Private Practice
by Alien-Writes
Summary: When nineteen year old Kakashi is injured during a mission, it's Sakura's job to see that he is healed properly. But, Kakashi is interested in a bit more than the healing she can give him. [Age Swap AU]
1. Interruptions

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AN- So, I know I have NO business starting anything else but I'm in need of some lighter things to write.  
This will be less angsty than my other fics I've got going on...though there will be some angst. It'll just be nicely wrapped in a fluffy cocoon of KakaSaku deliciousness!

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It wasn't a rare occasion for Sakura to be pulled out of bed in the middle of the night by a call from the hospital. She _was_ the top medic in Konoha, after all and had been for the past ten years. Midnight wakeup calls were a part of her every day life. But, the call that came in fifteen minutes ago, interrupting her _alone_ time, was unusual. It had been the Hokage knocking on her door in the darkness.

Having to get out of bed after taking time to get cozy, turn on some music and ready herself for a bit of self-love, already put her in a foul mood. She had been ready to snap at whoever the hell had the death wish to disturb her _after_ midnight. When she threw open her front door to see Naruto, however, she quickly held back the stream of curses she had ready.

"Naruto," she said with a frown, pinching the front of her dressing robe closed across her chest. "Is everything alright? Is it Sasuke—"

"No, it isn't Sasuke. I need your help at the hospital. It's urgent and confidential." The exhaustion written across his face made Sakura frown. She knew how hard he was working these days and it was worrying how little sleep he was getting.

Shaking the hair from her face, she nodded. "Okay, just let me get dressed. I'll meet you there." Naruto turned on her doorstep and was gone with a quick leap to the nearest rooftop. For just a moment, she hesitated, staring into the darkness where he had just stood as she wracked her brain for any possible explanation for what could have happened.

Above the village, thunder rumbled, and she could smell the threat of rain in the air. Sakura quickly hurried to her bedroom and pulled out the first shirt she could grab. It was a plain, white tunic that fell to her thighs and she slipped on a pair of black leggings underneath it. Just as she slipped her feet into her sandals, the rain began to fall. It pelted off the windowpanes faster and faster until it was coming down in sheets.

 _Great_ , she thought, gathering her hair into a bun at the back of her head. At least the cold rain would get rid of the last shred of arousal she had summoned before the knock at her door.

* * *

The hospital was bustling for an ordinary Tuesday night. It wasn't too unusual, though. The start of the winter season always brought in people who had missed their flu vaccines and were now suffering from high fevers. A handful of miserable people sat in the Emergency Department waiting room, their loved ones filling out paper work.

As Sakura strolled in through the sliding doors, the admittance nurse looked up at her in surprise. "Sakura-sensei! I thought you had left for the night." The young nurse said, quickly pushing away the fashion magazine she had been reading at her work station. Any other night, Sakura would have given her an earful for it, but not tonight. She was already _so_ done with tonight.

"I just," she shook her head with a purse of her lips. "I forgot something." Without a backward glance, Sakura moved through the department and swiped her badge at the locked doors that led to the main entrance of the hospital.

It was typically locked at night, with only the ED open for admittance. The lights had been cut off in the main waiting area and Sakura made sure things weren't left in a mess by the last shift to work with a quick glance. Satisfied that her hospital was at least decent in her absence, she swung by her office and snatched her lab coat off the peg just inside the door.

The coat did little to warm her after being caught in the sudden downpour, but it did manage to cover her chest. White shirts and buckets of rain didn't exactly mix. She may not have been as well endowed as her best friend in the breast department, but she didn't need to be showing everyone what little she did have. Fastening the middle button on the coat, she grabbed her medical bag beside her desk and hurried to the elevators around the corner.

To the casual observer and most of the medical staff around the hospital, the third floor was reserved for _private matters_. Those who knew what this meant knew not to offer any further explanations and those who didn't know, were told the third floor was closed for updates. In reality, it was much like the ED two floors down. Except, there was no lengthy paperwork and the confidentiality protocols were ten times more intense.

It was on this floor where the elevator doors opened, and Sakura stepped out. She adjusted the medical bag on her shoulder and made her way through the halls. Only a few of the rooms were currently occupied, which was a good thing. The less shinobi that came through here meant more out there, protecting the village.

The last door at the end of the hallway was where she and Naruto would always bring the wounded first. It was a large space, set up to resemble an ordinary doctor's office. There were four examination beds set up with curtains hanging for privacy and a counter that ran along the back wall that held all the supplies. Beside the last bed in the room, Sakura could see Naruto standing with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He lifted his head as she moved into the room.

"Sakura," he said with a breath of relief. "Thank you for coming. I know it's late." He ran a palm across his face and took a step back to give her room near the bed.

Sakura hooked her fingers beneath a rolling table and pulled it along behind her, dropping her bag on top of it. She could see a pair of feet, the heels hanging off the edge of the bed, and with a quick glance noticed the familiar grey vest. Another Anbu shinobi. They were the majority of the patients that came in to the third floor of the hospital. They never listened to her medical advice, always jumping back into their duties _weeks_ too soon. She knew Naruto had a little bit of influence with that, but it was still mildly infuriating.

She was only the top medic in the village. Why take her advice?

Pursing her lips, she tossed the flap of her bag back and began taking out the usual supplies; gauze, antiseptic wipes, bandages. Glancing over her shoulder to her friend, she nodded to the patient laying on the bed. He held his left arm against his chest and even from a quick look, she could tell he was badly burned. "What happened?"

"It was an explosion," the Anbu shinobi answered, making her finally turn to look at him. Sakura slowly slipped her gloves onto her hands, pulling them around the sleeve of her lab coat. Her eyes scanned the damp, silvery hair on top of his head, falling to the strands that clung to the side of his ash covered face. The strip of fabric across his face was torn just a bit on the side and she could see that some of the explosion caught his jaw. His left arm, from his elbow up to his shoulder had been hit. The top layer of his skin had been stripped away, leaving an angry streak of red marks and blisters in its place. Luckily, his Anbu tattoo had been spared.

Pursing her lips, she turned to the bed and slid the table closer to her, eyeing Naruto as he watched her closely. She slid her hand beneath the shinobi's elbow and inspected the burn. Up close, it was worse than she had thought, potentially damaging the inner layers of his flesh. She snatched the antiseptic wipes from the table and peeled them open, meeting the masked shinobi's eyes. He didn't seem to be in too much pain…yet.

She swiped the towel over the edge of the burn, gripping his arm tight as he gave a flinch at the sudden sting. Though he didn't react much, she could tell he was in pain. A wound like this would have made a lesser man cry like a baby. Glancing back at Naruto, she sighed. "It's a pretty bad burn."

"Can you heal him?"

Could she heal him? Ugh. Did he not know her at all? Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Sakura took a deep breath instead and turned back to the patient's arm. "Of course, I can-" she didn't try to hide the annoyance in her voice. "That's not the point. I can repair most of the damage, but he'll still need _at least_ two weeks to recover—"

"I'm _fine_ ," the shinobi said through clenched teeth. Sakura ignored him as she tossed the wipes into a biohazard container. She kicked a rolling stool toward her and sat down on it, blowing the hair from her face.

"Two weeks is out of the question, Sakura—"

"I said, _at least_ two weeks. You know," she scoffed, shaking the loose strand of hair away from her eyes. "You always do this. These shinobi may be Anbu, but they're still human, Naruto." The tight clench of his jaw as she addressed him so informally in front of his subordinate was satisfying. "If you make him go back out there after a wound like this, he's going to either tear it open again, or get it infected." Not waiting for him to respond, she turned back to the arm in her hand and dragged in a deep breath. Luckily, Naruto didn't try to argue with her.

Her eyes only momentarily flickered up to the shinobi's face but as she did, she caught sight of him staring at her with quite a curious expression. There was a strange glint in his dark eyes and though she couldn't be too sure, what with his mask covering his face and all, she could have sworn he was smiling at her. Apparently, the way she had handled their Hokage so easily impressed him.

There was no reason why that should cause her to become a bit flushed.

Shaking her head, she placed her arm over his elbow and gathered her chakra from deep within her, sending it to cover the tips of her fingers down to her palm. The familiar rush of cool energy flowed calmly around her hand like a pool of water. With just a bit of a push, Sakura let it glide over the shinobi's wound and into the damaged layers of skin. He was lucky it hadn't caused more harm than it had.

It was deep, but nothing that she couldn't handle. As she worked her way up to his bicep, one hand hovering over it while she slipped her other hand beneath to keep him steady, her eyes flickered up to him once more. "Any pain?"

"I told you, I'm fine."

"You say that now. In the morning, you'll be singing a different tune." Her chakra moved around the blisters, cooling them and repairing the damage. Though the cool press of chakra felt good to the burns _now_ , he'd be sore as absolute fuck in the morning. She knew that if Naruto gave him the all clear to return to the mission, he'd run the risk of an infection. It was a bit hard to remember to take your antibiotics when you were out on a mission for days on end.

Reaching the tops of his shoulder, Sakura stood to her feet and guided the shinobi to sit up from the bed. She unhooked the straps of his vest and inspected the skin beneath it. Luckily, his tactical vest had taken most of the heat from the explosion and the muscle along the top of his shoulder had been spared. The mark along his jaw didn't seem to be nothing more than a minor first-degree burn, and she reached for another antiseptic wipe.

"I need to—"

He reached up and pulled the edge of the mask down just enough that she could see the bottom point of the scar running down the left side of his face. Gently, she rubbed the wipe across the wound and tossed it into the bin at her feet.

And as she straightened her back, his eyes once again moved to her. This time, much lower than her face. She hadn't quite noticed that her coat button had come loose, and now her tunic was fully exposed. The fabric was still a bit damp and far too see through for her liking beneath the bright lights overhead. This time, her entire face burned bright. Was he checking her out? What a little perv!

She clenched her jacket across her chest and quickly buttoned it back, whirling to face Naruto. She channeled the agitation from his stares into trying to convince the Hokage that her medical advice shouldn't be ignored. "Two weeks—"

"Three days—" he countered, holding up three fingers.

" _Naruto!"_

"Fine…One week."

Sakura threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Why do I even bother? Fine, in a week, he'll be medically cleared to return to the field," she paused, letting Naruto's mouth stretch into a grin. " _If_ he returns in two days for a follow up. I will be checking to see if he's been over exerting himself in anyway." With an arch of her eyebrow, she stripped her gloves off with a loud, rubbery pop.

As she stashed her supplies back into her bag, she could hear Naruto discussing something with the shinobi in hushed tones. A few times, she caught the young Anbu insisting that he was fine, but he didn't try to argue once Naruto put his foot down. Sakura moved to one of the large cabinets along the back wall of the room and pulled the door open.

The six shelves inside where stocked with various medications and she plucked a bottle of antibiotics from the top shelf before moving to the lower one to grab some medicated ointment for his blisters. Upon turning to face the two men, they quickly snapped their mouths shut and watched her with innocent faces. If they thought they'd be able to convince her to change her mind, they were dead wrong. Maybe she would be a bit more lenient if she had been able to keep her date with her vibrator half an hour ago.

She crossed back to the bed and held the medicine out to the shinobi, forcing a tight-lipped smile. "Take two pills every day, with food, until the bottle is empty. Rub the ointment on your blisters, _carefully_ , in the morning and evenings before bed. No over exertion," as she spoke, she turned to Naruto and put her hands on her hips. "And _no_ missions for one week. Come see me Thursday morning for your follow up exam." Without another word, she turned to her bag and slipped the strap over her shoulder.

Naruto followed her to the door, stopping her steps with a hand around her elbow. "Thank you. I know it's late and you already worked all day. I owe you."

"Yes, you do. I'm free for lunch tomorrow around noon. You can repay me with some ramen." She looked over his shoulder to the bed at the back of the room. The Anbu shinobi was sitting up and setting his feet down on the floor in their absence. For a brief moment, a look of pain flashed across his face as he stood, and Sakura frowned. He must have been hiding his pain from her.

"Okay, fine. Listen," Naruto glanced back quickly before pulling her closer to him. "You can't keep talking to me like that in front of them. I know we've been friends for two decades, but if you keep treating me like I'm twelve still, they won't take me seriously."

"Oh, please," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You do the exact same to me. How do you think it looks to _my_ subordinates when I give my orders and you go behind my back and tell the patients to blatantly ignore them?"

She could tell by the look on his face that he had never seen it that way before. It figured. Naruto was never known to be astute when it came to things like this. He blinked and pursed his lips in a slight pout. "I see your point. Alright, from now on, I will take your orders seriously if you promise not to talk to me like we're kids."

She couldn't help the smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "I just can't help it sometimes." Sakura reached up and pinched his cheek, wiggling it a few times as he narrowed his eyes into a glare. "You'll always be the immature little prick you were when we were kids to me. But, I promise to work on it." Dropping her hand from his face, she looked pointedly at the shinobi making his way toward them. He was much taller than she had suspected and though his mask was covering his face, she suspected a small smile was hiding behind it. "I'll see _you_ Thursday."

"I'll be looking forward to it."


	2. Follow Up

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* * *

By Thursday, Sakura had completely forgotten about the follow-up appointment she had scheduled with the Anbu shinobi. She had come into work Wednesday morning and found herself covered up to her eyelids in paperwork, which was bad enough as it was. But, since it was nearing the end of the month, all of her Discharge Summaries had to be typed and submitted. It was always a headache and this time was no different.

When she arrived Thursday morning, dripping umbrella clutched in one hand to shield her from the relentless rain, and a coffee in the other, Sakura was surprised to see someone waiting outside her office door. The figure was tall, with a head of gravity-defying silver hair and a mask that laid across the lower half of his face.

She wasn't sure whether it was the surprise of seeing him _actually_ return for his follow-up appointment, or the way he lifted his eyes to look at her…either way, a few butterflies made their way through her stomach. It was something she hadn't felt in a while; probably not since the last time she had seen Sasuke. It made her swallow tightly as she slowly made her way to her office.

"Good morning," he said once she got near to him. In the place of the Anbu uniform she saw him in two nights ago, he was now wearing the typical Jōnin uniform and Sakura ignored the urge to let her eyes travel down the length of his body.

"Morning." She glanced to his left arm, still loosely wrapped in the bandage she had applied to him. Shifting her gaze back up to his face, Sakura held the umbrella between her elbow and body as she dug the keys to her office out of her purse.

"Here," he said, taking the items in her hands to give her freedom to rummage through the purse on her shoulder. "Let me hold these."

"Thanks," she mumbled, grabbing the ring of keys from the bottom of her bag. Sakura blew the hair from her face and quickly found the right key, turning her attention toward the lock. For a second, she forgot what she was doing. The close proximity of his body to hers was rather distracting. She could practically feel his body heat radiating against her left side. With a twist of the key, she pushed her door open and turned to the shinobi. "Ah, you can wait in the exam room down the hall. I'll be in just as soon as I get settled."

He waited patiently, holding her things out so she could take them back. His eyes never left hers and she suspected his smile never faltered either. Just as he turned to make his way into the exam room, Sakura called after him.

"Oh, wait! What was your name again? I need to look for your file."

This time, she could see the smile in his eyes, the corners creasing sweetly. "Hatake Kakashi." She didn't know how someone could sound so attractive saying their own name. As he continued his trek down the hall, Sakura blinked after him, her eyebrow slowly lifting into an arch.

 _Get it together, idiot! You skip one night of self-care and suddenly you're horny for anything with a penis._ She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes at how ridiculous she was being. Maybe after months of servicing herself, it was beginning to take its toll on her. It did no good to think about her sex life. Or lack thereof. Sasuke would be back soon to check in with Naruto and she'd find some relief. He never stayed gone longer than a year and they were pushing eleven months currently. All she had to do was hold out for another few weeks. How hard could that be? She'd already lasted this long.

Sakura dropped her umbrella off in the corner behind the door and hurried to her desk, sinking into her chair. The bottom drawer of her desk, the largest one, was where she kept the Anbu charts. Since their identities were to be strictly confidential, she kept their files under lock and key. Pulling the drawer open with only a bit of resistance, she thumbed through the names across the top of the charts until she reached the one labled 'K. Hatake'. Plucking it from the drawer, she opened the front flap and glanced through the information.

There was one line that drew her attention instantly. _Nineteen-years-old_. It stood out twice as much as anything else on the page and she quickly snapped the chart closed before kicking the drawer shut. She locked it back, stood from her chair and straightened her coat and clothes before the appointment. Yet, her feet made no move toward the door of her office.

 _Ugh, what is wrong with you?_ She asked herself, placing her palm across her forehead. _One guy shows you a tiny bit of attention and you're suddenly thirteen years old again._

Refusing to let a goddam _nineteen-year-old_ have any kind affect on her aside from sheer annoyance, Sakura squared her shoulders and forced herself out into the hall. She pulled her door behind her and held the chart against her chest as she hurried into the exam room she had instructed him to wait for her in.

She found him sitting in the chair beside the examination bed, elbows draped over his knees and his head hung as he waited. With a quick clearing of her throat, she moved into the room and gently shut the door behind her. "So sorry to keep you waiting." He lifted his head at the sound of her voice and sat up straight in the chair, wincing only slightly at the sudden movement. Sakura sat down on the rolling stool near the bed and crossed her legs. "Have you had any pain in the past two days?"

"Not much."

 _A pervert and a liar_. She could easily see in the split-second flinches that he didn't think she would notice that his arm was causing at least some discomfort. It was typical for his type to lie about their pain. Most of the shinobi did that came to see her. They had to appear tough and in control at all times. Sakura scribbled a few notes in his chart and clicked her pen, closing it up in the folder before tossing it onto the counter to her left. "Hop up on the table for me," she said, watching him rise to his feet to tower over her. The next sentence she had to say lodged firmly in her throat and she had to force her mouth to form the words. "And, I'll need you to undress. From the waist up, please."

His eyes met hers, one eyebrow arching nearly to his hairline. She decided to ignore the humor behind his stare, turning to face the glove box sitting on the counter to give him a bit of privacy. As she slipped one of the latex gloves over her fingers, she could hear the sound of the zipper of his flak jacket followed by the swish of fabric. She turned to catch him pulling the navy-blue shirt up and over his head, dropping it into the chair. Unfortunately, his mask stayed in place over his nose and mouth.

For just a brief moment, her eyes drifted down his chest, taking in the sight of his muscles, scars, pale skin and the particularly large, nasty bruise on his ribs. _Wait a minute_. She couldn't help gaping down to his side, her lips parting in surprise. "What's this?"

She swore if Naruto had sent Kakashi out on a mission before he was ready, she was going to march up to his office and strangle him. "Well," the shinobi said, making her eyes lift up to his. "I took an explosion to my side. It's normal to have a bit of bruising from something like that."

She chose to ignore his cheeky tone and pursed her lips as he laid back. "This isn't a _bit of bruising_." Pressing a hand to his left shoulder, she guided him to lay back on the bed, careful not to touch the burns on his arm. "Is this why you've been flinching every time you move?"

"I haven't been flinching."

Sakura resisted the urge to give him a roll of her eyes. What was with these guys? They were always so scared of being honest about their pain, as if they believed if they ignored it, it would go away. But, this was Sakura's fault really. Even after seeing how he had moved slowly the first night he came into the hospital, she ignored it. She should have asked him if he was hurting anywhere else, though he probably wouldn't have admitted it anyway. It was going to take a bit of tough love to get him to confess that he was in pain.

"So, you're telling me that _this_ doesn't hurt?" She put her palm against the bruise and pushed into the tender area. Whether he wanted it to or not, his body reacted and jerked away from her touch. He sighed and shrugged a shoulder.

"Well, it is a bruise, after all," he replied, averting his eyes to study a chart of the skeletal system hanging on the wall beside the bed. "I'll be fine at the end of the week."

Except that he clearly wouldn't be. Sakura reached into his body with her chakra, letting it move through the layers of skin and muscle until she found his rib cage. It was just as she suspected. There were three small fractures across his 7th and 8th ribs along with moderate strain to the muscles. How he had even been walking around and upright was a mystery to Sakura. She pulled the chakra back into her hand and sighed, looking up to catch him watching her.

"I don't think you will."

"What do you mean?" He started to sit up and she reached up, putting both hands against his chest to prevent him from moving.

"Your ribs are broken in three places and you have some pretty bad strain to the muscle surrounding it. You're going to need three weeks of rest."

" _Three weeks?_ " His voice raised in surprised anger. He pushed against her hands and sat up on the bed, shaking his head. "For a bruise?"

"I very clearly said _fractures_. And three weeks was me being generous. I would normally recommend six weeks for this kind of injury on any other patient." She crossed the room to snatch his chart off the counter. He may have been cute, but he was almost as annoying as Naruto about this kind of thing. If he kept this up, she'd recommend the full six weeks just to prove a point.

It didn't take long for her to examine the burn mark on his arm. The swelling hadn't gone down too much, but she hadn't expected it to be completely gone in two days. As she inspected the wound, she could feel Kakashi's gaze on her. The tops of her cheeks turned warm and she cleared her throat to make herself focus on his arm and not the way he was staring at her.

"Are you taking your antibiotics every day?"

"Yes," he said, his tone low and sultry. It made her eyes instantly lift to his, finding him staring at her in the same way he had the first night she met him. At least this time, he wasn't staring at her chest. Her reaction was the same though. Heat prickled beneath the skin across her face and neck and she stood, pulling the latex gloves from her hands.

"And the ointment?" She turned away from him, grabbing the pen laying on top of his chart as she blinked down at the pages. Why wasn't her hand moving? She knew she needed to mark in his progress notes that he was being compliant with her instructions, but her fingers refused to actually form the words on the page. Why was he having this affect on her? It was absolutely ridiculous.

Finally, her fingers moved the pen over the chart and she pursed her lips as she scribbled her notes. Behind her, she could hear him sit up on the bed and swing his legs over the edge. He still hadn't answered her. Sakura glanced back at him from over her shoulder, catching the same gaze still in his eyes as he watched her. Oh, Lord…

"Morning and night. What time do you normally take your lunch?"

 _What?_

Sakura blinked, and the pen slipped from her fingers. "I don't—Why do you want to know?" God, how did he make her so flustered? He was a _teenager!_ Okay, so nineteen was a lot closer to twenty than any other age, but it was still… _no_.

"Because I want to buy you lunch."

This had to be a joke. Something he thought would be funny to pass around with his Anbu friends at her expense. ' _I asked out the Hokage's old friend and she believed me! What a moron!'_ She could just hear the chorus of laughter from the imaginary group of boys and she pursed her lips. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I hardly think this is appropriate—"

Kakashi put his hands up, eyes wide but still holding onto that humor that made Sakura feel a strange mixture of apprehension and butterflies. "I'm not playing at anything," he said with a chuckle. "I'm trying to ask you out."

"Oh." It was the only response her brain could begin to formulate as she stared at him. Was it possible that he wasn't trying to pull a prank on her? Could he…actually want to take her out on a date? Warmth flooded her face and she blinked down at her hands twisting nervously in front of her, trying to think of something to say. It seemed rude to turn him down due to his age. Then again…why did she have to turn him down in the first place?

 _Sasuke_ …

Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe she had almost forgotten about Sasuke! He was her boyfriend, and though she hadn't seen him in almost a year, she was horrible for not immediately telling Kakashi she wasn't single. Clearing her throat, she brushed the hair from her face and forced a polite smile. "That's very sweet of you, but—"

"You have a boyfriend," he finished for her with a smile brightening his gaze. "Of course, you do. But, I'd hate to walk out of here without at least trying. So, three weeks, huh?" He reached for the clothes in the chair to their left and slipped his shirt back over his head. Sakura watched him dress, still unsure of what had even happened.

"Um, yes. Three weeks. I'll need to check your progress and see if you're healing," she paused to swallow, her eyes drifting down the length of his torso as the material of his shirt fell around his waist. "Properly."

"When do you want me to come back?"

 _Tomorrow_ , she thought before she could stop herself. Turning back to the chart, she pretended to look at something important, though everything on the page blurred before her. "Monday should be fine. Unless you're feeling any pain or have concerns."

"If I am, should I come in to see you or call you directly?"

"Well, you can always call and if I'm not in my office, you can leave a message." She frowned as he looked up at the ceiling with a laugh that made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy. He shook his head and reached for the door.

"Are you trying to make this difficult for me on purpose?"

"Oh." Why was that the only thing she could comprehend around him? _Oh_. It was like with one look, he made the wires in her brain spaz out and she couldn't articulate a single intelligent response. Sakura scratched her eyebrow, hoping he didn't notice this affect he had on her.

"I'm asking for your number. But, strictly for medical reasons. I wouldn't want your boyfriend to think I was stepping out of line." Kakashi's mask lifted on one side and Sakura bit the inside of her lip, wishing she could see the smirk that she knew was behind it. His hand held the knob of the door, yet made no move to pull it open, trapping them inside the room until she either gave him her number or forced him out.

Was it wrong to give him her phone number? She was his doctor, after all. It didn't seem like he was going to use it for strictly medical reasons like he promised, but that was hardly a reason not to give it to him. Wasn't it her duty to make sure Konoha's shinobi were medically fit? With a playful scowl, Sakura pulled open one of the drawers in the cabinets to find a note pad. She scribbled her office and home number before handing it over to him. "Only for medical reasons."

"Of course," he said with a wink that made her want to bite her lip. Once they said their goodbyes, Sakura stayed behind in the exam room to give herself a moment to get a grip. She still thought she was being ridiculous about the whole thing, but it was hard to deny how good it felt to have someone interested in her again.

Her relationship with Sasuke was going on its eighth year and with him being gone so often, it was hard to even consider him still her boyfriend. A boyfriend would write to her once in a while, she'd think. Then again, he had explained to her several times that he wasn't always in a position to write to her and wouldn't want it to compromise her safety or his. She understood…but that didn't mean she had to like it.

Sakura smoothed her hair back into a ponytail and poked her head out in the hallway, just to make sure he wasn't waiting on her for some reason. Luckily, the hall was clear, and she was free to hurry back into her office and start the task of conquering her never ending mountain of paperwork. Though, today, she couldn't seem to get rid of the small smile that played at her lips.

* * *

The lunch Naruto had promised to buy her on Tuesday had turned into a take-out dinner in his office on Friday night. Sakura couldn't exactly complain since the meal was free but eating in the Hokage tower wasn't exactly what she had in mind. She pulled her leg up under her in the spare chair and slid closer to his desk and her food.

She had brought over the notes on his Anbu shinobi and after only a brief argument, Naruto agreed that three weeks is a sufficient amount of time to heal from wounds of that nature. What Sakura didn't mention was the flirting that had gone on between Hatake Kakashi and herself. If what they had done could even be considered flirting in the first place. It had been quite a while since anyone had even attempted to flirt with her.

She popped a dumpling into her mouth and stared at Naruto as he slurped up a rather large bite of noodles. He didn't seem to even notice the broth dripping down his chin. "Do you ever get tired of ramen?" Sakura asked around a mouthful of her own food.

Naruto lifted his eyebrows and looked at her as if she had grown two heads. "Tired? Of ramen?"

"Never mind," Sakura muttered, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "So…has there been any word?" She hated bringing him up so often, but she was going crazy with worry these past few weeks. It was so unlike Sasuke to stay quiet this long. After three months of nothing, she couldn't help her concern.

Naruto shook his head as he stirred his ramen absentmindedly. "Not since the last time." He leaned over his bowl and took in another large bite. For some reason though, it seemed that he was deliberately avoiding her gaze. It was something he did when he lied and instantly, Sakura set her eyes into a glare. She watched him chew slowly, barely swallowing before shoveling in another bite of noodles.

"Why do I not believe you?"

"Ermm?" His words were muffled around the food in his mouth, but he lifted his head and stared at her, eyes wide and revealing. The little prick _was_ lying to her! She hoped he could feel the icy daggers she was glaring into his head at the moment.

" _Naruto!_ "

He swallowed and reached for the bottle of water sitting between them. Luckily, she was faster, and she snatched it into her fist, standing to her feet. "Tell me what you know, and you can have your water."

"Eurgh! My mouth is burning!" He reached for the bottle, but she pulled it away from him and shook her head.

" _Tell me!_ "

"Fine!" Naruto collapsed back into his chair and sighed in defeat, barely catching the bottle of water she tossed at him. He twisted the cap and brought it to his lips, downing nearly half the contents before sighing from relief. Sakura lowered herself back into her chair and pushed her food away, her stomach to knotted up to even think about eating another bite. "He sent a message last week."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She could feel the words sticking behind the lump in her throat.

When Naruto responded, he didn't look at her. "He told me not to."

She sat back in the chair and shook her head in disbelief. This didn't make sense. In his last letter, he had sounded normal, even eager to get back to Konoha and see them again. What had changed in two months? Frowning, Sakura lifted her eyes to Naruto to catch him staring at her, a look of worry written across his face. "I want to see it."

"Sakura—"

" _I want to see it_." She emphasized each word through clenched teeth, watching her oldest friend give a slow nod and a sigh. He reached deep into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a small scroll before sliding it across the desk. For a moment, she stared at it, not sure if she did want to see it now that it was sitting there. Her arms felt weighed down as she reached for the scroll and pulled it into her lap. With shaking fingers, she unrolled it and stared down at the familiar handwriting.

' _Naruto- This will be my last message for a while. I don't know how long just yet but it might be months or more. I'll send word as soon as I can. Don't tell Sakura.'_

 _Months or more_ …What did that even mean? A year? Two?

In the back of Sakura's throat, she could taste the few dumplings she had managed to eat threaten to come back up and she tossed the scroll back onto his desk. It rolled across it until it was stopped by the bowl of half eaten ramen. She shook her head in disbelief, cursing her chin for quivering.

"Sakura," Naruto whispered, though he didn't say much else. What else was there to say? It was all pretty clear in Sasuke's message. He might be gone for years and he was just going to disappear without telling her anything.

"It's always going to be like this, isn't it? With him and I."

"You don't deserve it," Naruto whispered, making her eyes meet his. No, she didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve a boyfriend who only cared enough to see her or write to her when _he_ felt like it. Did he expect her to just deal with the loneliness three-hundred-and-sixty days of the year and be happy the five days he decided to grace their lives with his presence? That was bullshit.

Sakura sat up and gathered the food boxes, knowing it was rude not to finish her meal after Naruto had paid for it, but the thought of eating right now made her want to throw up. She stacked the boxes and stood to her feet, grabbing her purse from the back of the chair. "Feel free to eat the rest of my food," she muttered.

Naruto was on his feet before she could turn to the door, reaching for her hand to stop her from leaving. He sighed as she pulled away from his grasp and shook her head. "Sakura, its going to be okay."

"You're right," she said, turning to him with a bitter laugh in the back of her throat. "It will be alright. _I_ will be alright. If he does write to you, be sure to tell him that." Before the tears could burn the back of her eyelids, she turned away from her friend and left. And though her words sounded strong in her own years, her knees felt weak as they carried her to the elevator.


	3. In The Dark

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Author's Note: So, just a bit of a disclaimer. I forget that you can't have tags on your fics on this site so I figure I'll just make a note of it. Kakashi in this fic will be a bit different than in my others. He's more aggressive, the way young men usually are. Now, I'm not saying he will be mean or anything along those lines. He just knows what he wants. With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter, though it's shorter than the others. I'll make it up soon :)

* * *

Sakura crossed her legs as she sat in the café with her two best friends, Ino and Hinata. They tried to meet up at least once a week to unload their stresses on one another, and today was no different. For the past half hour, the blonde was explaining how she and her fiancé, Sai, had been arguing over furniture layouts in their new house. Sakura would share a glance with Hinata every so often and they'd both hide their smiles from the third girl.

"It's like whatever I say goes in one ear, and right out the other with him." Ino rolled her eyes and lifted her cup to her lips, though the tea never made it into her mouth. "I mean, how hard is it to pick a place to put an end table?"

"Maybe," Hinata started hesitantly, knowing it was better to just agree with Ino than argue. "He just wants to make you happy, so he lets you decide these things."

"What would make me happy is if he actually had an opinion about our home. It's not just my home. It's our home and he doesn't even care." Finally, she took a sip of her tea and shrugged her shoulders. "It's whatever. I don't even care anymore."

Again, Sakura shared a look with Hinata and they both silently agreed that it was clear Ino did care. They didn't press her further and Sakura wondered if she should tell them about the scroll from Sasuke. As much as she was dying to talk to someone about it, she didn't know if she could bring herself to actually say what was on her mind.

It was hard enough just thinking it. Hearing her friends agree that Sasuke was a shitty boyfriend and that she should do what she should have done a long time ago and break up with him, would be a hell of a lot harder. It would probably break her heart even further. Taking a deep breath, Sakura finished her tea and glanced between her two friends. "We should probably get going if we want to make that movie."

Sakura slid out of the booth and slung her purse strap over her shoulder. For a split second, her eyes lifted to the window of the café and she almost ignored the familiar figure standing across the street had it not been for the silver hair that caught the light in a flash. Her eyes went wide, hand going still mid adjustment of her purse and she tried to focus on what Hinata was saying at the moment, but she couldn't. All she could see was him.

He was surrounded by two of his friends and they were laughing about something while he was concentrating more on the open book in his hands. Everything was happening in slow motion. Kakashi lifted his head, eyebrows furrowed beneath the strip of hair hanging over his face and his eyes scanned the area. He could feel her staring at him.

A hand circled Sakura's elbow and pulled her toward the front door of the café and she was faintly aware of Ino speaking to her, but she couldn't make sense of the words. Above her head, the bell to the café chimed and Sakura was dragged out onto the sidewalk, directly across from the group of boys. No, not boys. They were men. Right? She didn't know which to think of them as in that moment, mostly because her body was reacting quite curiously to seeing him and the fact that his eyes met her seconds before he turned toward her.

"Haruno-sensei," he called from the street, lifting his hand to give her a little wave. Almost immediately, her two friends turned to the sound her his voice and Sakura could see their curious expressions out of her corner of her eye. Ino tilted her head to the side, her blue eyes sweeping down the length of his body before she made a soft hum behind her lips. Sakura pushed her hair behind her ear and forced herself to wave at him. "How are you today?"

Both Hinata and Ino turned to face Sakura, their eyes wide, waiting for her to answer him. "I'm doing well. How are you?"

"Better now," he said, a smile evident in his voice. Sakura ignored the shared look of curious surprise between her friends and stepped in front of them. It was mostly to block them from seeing how he affected her, but she didn't need to see them either. Their faces would only make her more flustered and she didn't need to be flustered around him.

"I hope you're taking care of yourself and staying out of trouble." He knew what she meant by trouble; _missions_.

With a nod, he glanced back to the two friends he had left behind on the opposite side of the street. They were staring at the scene with almost the exact same expression her own friends had. If it were night, her face would have lit up the street. "Of course, I am," he grinned. "It was doctor's orders, right?"

"Y-yes, that's right." Sakura cursed herself for becoming such a stuttering mess around him. "Well, we have a movie to get to, so—"

"Oh, we can go on ahead," Ino chimed in happily. "Come on, Hinata. Let's hurry and get you some popcorn!"

"But, I'm not hungry—"

Sakura resisted the urge to smack herself in the forehead as she watched the two women hurry away, only glancing back at them once. Turning back to face Kakashi, she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to think up another excuse to leave his presence. He cut her off before she could utter a sound.

"You're going to see a movie? Mind if I walk you?"

Oh, this was teetering on some potentially dangerous grounds, but for the life of her, Sakura couldn't think of a damn reason why he couldn't. It wasn't like Sasuke was ever going to see her and Kakashi together. Why shouldn't she let him walk her to a movie? It didn't mean anything more than just that; a walk.

She blinked and watched him call to his friends, telling them he would catch up later. They shared a quick snickering laugh, one that immediately made alarm bells go off in Sakura's head. Was what she had feared the other day coming true? Was he using her as some sort of sick joke for his friend's amusement?

As Kakashi turned back to face her, he chuckled and held his hands up the same way he had in the examination room three days earlier. "I have no ulterior motives, Haruno-sensei. I swear."

For some reason, she believed him but the playful scowl on her face didn't fade just yet. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Fine. But-" against her better judgement, she let herself smile up at him. "You can call me Sakura."

The coy smirk that lit up his eyes had Sakura swallowed tightly. "Alright, Sakura," he said her name like it was honey on his tongue and he could taste every syllable. "Is there a reason why you assume I've got some sinister plans for you?" He held out his hand, gesturing for her to walk ahead of him. Her feet moved on their own, thankfully, seeing as her brain was currently too rattled to work properly.

As he fell in step beside her, Sakura nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and stared down at the street in front of them. "I guess I'm just not used to someone being interested in me." It wounded ridiculous hearing it with her own ears. She sounded like a pre-teen, worried about whether or not Sasuke Uchiha had noticed her new haircut.

Kakashi scoffed, tucking the book he had been holding into the front of his Jonin vest pocket. "Now, that I don't believe. A woman like you probably has men lining up down the block just to get a glance."

Okay, now she was convinced he was either playing a prank on her, or the blast he had survived knocked a few screws loose in his head. Maybe, back in her day she had better luck with the men, but these days the pickings were slim. Of course, that was more due to the fact that everyone her age in Konoha knew she was Sasuke's girlfriend. It didn't change the fact that she didn't look the same. Sure, thirties were the new twenties, but that was something she was sure Ino just repeated to make herself feel better.

Lack of missions, falling into a routine at the hospital, and her age all added up to her just not being like she used to. Long gone were the days of lacy bras and panties. Her delicate's drawer had turned from black lace to nothing but white cotton in just a few short years. With a scoff, Sakura looked up at the man walking beside her with an eyebrow raised. "Flattery won't get you back on missions sooner, Hatake-san."

He laughed and the sound made those damn butterflies return in full force against the inside of her stomach. "I told you, 'no ulterior motives'. And please, Kakashi is fine."

"Fine, _Kakashi._ " she hadn't meant to sound so sultry, but hearing her own voice practically purring his name lit her face up bright and she ducked her head. Hopefully, the curtain of hair blocked him from seeing how flushed she had become. She closed her eyes but would probably never get the look that flashed across his face out of her mind, or the fact that she liked seeing it.

Luckily, he didn't feel the need to comment about it. He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "What movie are you and your friends going to see?"

"I'm not sure yet," she said, looking down the road ahead of them. The theater wasn't too far away now. Surely Ino had already ushered Hinata inside and they were sharing gossip and giggles about the mystery man talking to Sakura. Gods, she really didn't want to have to explain to them who he was. "I suppose they'll decide on one without me."

"Hmm," Kakashi touched a hand to his covered chin and glanced down at her, mischievousness filling his gaze. "I'm a bit jealous of them."

"Why?"

"They get to be alone with you in the dark for an hour or so."

Sakura's feet caught on a loose bit of gravel and she stumbled, reaching out to clutch the first thing she could find. It just so happened to be Kakashi's arm and he steadied her with a small, husky laugh that made her feel weak in the knees. She pushed her hair from her face and blinked up at him, still caught completely off guard by his words. She had told him she wasn't single and he swore he had no ulterior motives...so...why was he flirting? Better yet, why was it affecting her this way?

"I don't think...That's not..." It was no use. Her mouth was no longer capable of forming coherent responses. Again, Kakashi chuckled and Sakura's eyes fell to his hand still holding onto her arm. Even through her jacket, she could feel the warmth of his touch and it made her entire arm tingle.

"I like making you squirm."

"I can tell," she muttered, pulling her arm out of his grasp. This was becoming exactly as she feared. They were no longer teetering on anything. In just a few short minutes, they had been launched into the realm of inappropriateness and she was struggling to regain control of the situation. "You're a bit cheeky."

"I've heard that before, but not usually as nicely put as that." He looked ahead and sighed, though his face still held onto the signs of a grin beneath the mask. "I suppose this is where I'll leave you. I'm sure your friends will have a few questions to ask you."

Sakura glanced up to the theater sitting on the corner. There was a short line in front of the ticket booth and in the front window, she could see two familiar faces practically smashed up against the glass, watching them. It seemed that despite their ages, Ino and Hinata were still just as hungry for gossip as they had been in their youth.

"I think you're right. Well," she said, turning back to face him with a polite smile. As much as she'd like to hear him flirt and flatter her more, Sakura wasn't sure she'd be able to take much more of it. "Thank you for walking me. And, don't forget your appointment this week."

He stared down at her, something dark and titillating passing over his gaze. Sakura watched him take a step toward her, his eyes never leaving hers, and a small squeak escaped her lips. Her entire body froze and out of the corner of her eye, she could see his hand lift from his side and reach to brush a strand of hair away from her face. He hooked it behind her ear and let his eyes drift down to her mouth.

 _Oh, fuck_ , she screamed to herself. _He's going to kiss me..._

"Will you think about me in the dark?" His middle finger traced the length of her jaw down to her chin before dropping to his side. "I'll be thinking about you."

As he turned to leave, Sakura found herself _reaching_ for him and quickly forced her arms to stay firmly pressed against her side. Realizing that her friends were still watching her, probably seeing every little detail, she quickly spun on her heel and marched to the theater. Unsurprisingly, the two met her at the door, eyes wide and jaws slacked. " _What_ was _that_?" Ino started the questioning before Sakura could even take a breath.

" _Who_ was that?"

The two main questions she really did not want to answer at the moment. Sakura brushed her hair from her face and looked at her two friends, eyebrows raised with intent to change the subject. "Did you get any popcorn? I think I want some Red Vines." She breezed past them and made her way to the concession counter, pulling her wallet from the purse at her side.

The two women shared a quick glance before following behind her, refusing to let the subject drop that easily. As Sakura paid the cashier and waited for her to fetch the box of candy, Ino leaned over the counter and blinked at her. "Uh, hello? Answer us."

"He's a patient of mine," Sakura replied through clenched teeth, forcing a smile to the teenager handing her a box of Red Vines. "That's all I'll be saying."

"Damn, you always get the good ones," Ino said with a shake of her head as they turned toward the usher waiting to take their tickets.

Falling behind, Sakura let the two of them walk ahead so she could gather her thoughts and try to stop her knees from wobbling. As they handed their tickets over and moved into the dark theater, Kakashi's words echoed through her mind. ' _Will you think about me in the dark? I'll be thinking about you…'_ She could still hear the smooth rasp of his voice as if he were still in front of her.

Thankfully, the three women found a section of the seats toward the back and as Sakura sank into her chair, she bit her lower lip so hard she flinched. There was no mistaking the sensation of damp panties between her legs. Oh, she had to get a grip. Nothing good would come if this was how she'd react around him for the next three weeks.

She had to put a stop to this…whatever _this_ was. In Kakashi's next check-up, she would give him the all clear if he promised to finish his antibiotics and take things easy. No use in putting more stress and tension on herself. If he was in pain and needed her, for _medical_ reasons, he could visit. But, she wouldn't be scheduling anymore follow-up appointments with him. No matter how good it felt to have him flirt with her. She wasn't technically single yet, and until Sasuke returned to the village so she could sit him down and discuss their future, she couldn't be getting distracted by handsome men far too young for her.

Overhead, the lights of the theater dimmed and for just a few seconds before the screen flickered to life, the darkness surrounded her, and his voice whispered through her mind again. _Will you think about me in the dark?_


	4. Late

"So," Kakashi's younger teammate, Tenzō lifted his head and spoke as the older shinobi strolled back to where he had left his friends. "Is there any particular reason why you're chasing down Sasuke Uchiha's girlfriend in the middle of the street?"

There were times when Kakashi thought about retiring the mask altogether. The summer months, especially. His face was always warm, and the fabric would get a bit itchy. But, during times like this, he was thankful for the bit of material covering his face. It made it easier to hide emotions, like the one of surprise that made his jaw fall slack and eyes widen from his teammate's words.

He didn't know why he was shocked. There wasn't a person in Konoha, possibly the entire country, that didn't know the infamous Team 7 or their accomplishments. Of course, he had heard rumors from women that the eldest Uchiha was handsome and 'quite a catch', but he never put two and two together to draw the conclusion that it was Sakura who had caught him. Kakashi blamed that on his ability to ignore most gossip about who was hooking up with who around the village. This, however, should have been something he knew.

They were teammates after all, she and Sasuke. It only made sense that they would be in a relationship together. But, wouldn't relationships need to rely on one of the two people actually being present? Sure, long distance things worked for some people. Kakashi doubted it worked for Sakura.

He recovered from the momentary shock and grinned wolfishly behind his mask, nudging Tenzō with his elbow. "Am I not allowed to speak to someone just because they happen to have a boyfriend?" He hoped that the playfulness of his tone hid the disappointment he was feeling. Knowing that Sakura was not only involved with someone, but involved with Sasuke Uchiha of all people, put a damper on things.

Not enough to make him stop flirting with her, of course. That was much too fun to stop now, at least while Sasuke was away from the village.

Tenzō sighed and shrugged helplessly. "I suppose you can, but that didn't seem very harmless." They fell into step beside one another, heading back toward the Hokage tower where they had been on their way to earlier.

Even though Kakashi was out on medical leave for the next three weeks, he still wanted to stay aware of his team's missions. As if on cue, the dull ache along the left side of his torso flared and he concentrated on taking shallow breaths as they made their way through the streets. He would definitely be asking his doctor for a bottle of pain killers during his next check-up.

The thought of it made the corner of his lips lift and luckily, it took his mind off the pain still radiating from his fractured ribs. He was going to think about her all night, tonight. The way she had looked up at him as he tucked her hair behind her ear, eyes wide with fear and anticipation, was something he never wanted to forget. God, he had been so tempted to kiss her in that moment, even with her friends staring at them through the window of the theater.

He wondered what they would have done if he had.

From beside him, Tenzō reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing up at Kakashi with an eyebrow raised. "It was harmless, wasn't it?"

"What do you take me for, Tenzō? The woman is my doctor, not to mention taken by our teammate's older brother, which you so kindly reminded me of. Do you really think I'm capable of doing what you suspect me of doing?" He and Tenzō were both aware that he had avoided the question, but thankfully, neither pressed the issue further.

Kakashi took a deep breath, pushed his hands into his pockets and lifted his face toward the sky. The sun was just starting to set over the horizon and the clouds were shifting into the hazy purples and dusty pinks. He had never been too fond of the color pink, but it was starting to grow on him.

* * *

Sakura was so late. She couldn't remember ever being this late to a meeting before. The alarm on her phone had been set to go off at 6:45 and somehow, she had slept right through it until the entire device went dead. Now that it was currently half past nine, she was rushing through the streets, trying to avoid knocking into any unsuspecting bystander.

Shizune was going to kill her, she could just tell. The first of the month meetings were always crucial, not just for the nurses and medics to attend, but also the physicians. After eight years, she had never been this late.

She put her heels down on the gravel, kicking up dust as she slid around a corner and narrowly missed barreling into a cart of neatly assembled vegetables that were on display. As the shop owner shouted after her to watch where she was going, Sakura managed to pop the cap off of her deodorant and swipe it beneath her armpits. It wouldn't replace the shower she had been planning to take, but it would have to do. Hopefully, the other members of the hospital board wouldn't sit too close to her.

Unfortunately, Shizune was waiting for her at the entrance to the hospital, scowl already on her face. Sakura slowed to a trot and eyed the impatient tap of the woman's sandal across the tile floor. "You're late," Shizune reminded her, shoving a stack of stapled papers into Sakura's arms. "And you missed the meeting.

"I'm so sorry. My alarm didn't go off," she lied, straightening to pages before peering down at them. They were the usual progress reports that they went over during the board meetings, full of graphs on projected costs and spending verses money coming into the clinics. Each one of them had an angry, red arrow displaying too much spending, not enough revenue. Just like the last six months.

As they moved through the halls of the hospital, falling in step beside one another, Sakura looked at the older woman out of the corner of her eye. The worry lines across Shizune's forehead had only grown deeper in the last few months. Paired with the dark circles beneath her eyes and Sakura could tell she was doing more stressing than anything lately. Which wasn't hard to believe. After being promoted to Hospital Director last year, she had been busting her ass trying to fix some of the issues around the place.

Without her, they'd have never been able to expand the maternity ward, or bring in disease specialists. Though, with new additions, no matter how needed they were, costs increased and citizens of Konoha weren't too happy about it. Shizune was often caught in the middle, having to please both the government side of things as well as the public.

Flipping the bundle of pages back to the front, Sakura sighed and wished she had at least stopped to get a cup of coffee on her way in. She was already an hour and a half late...What would ten extra minutes hurt? Turning to the woman at her side, Sakura paused at her office door. "I take it I missed quite a meeting?"

"Honestly, I don't even want to talk about it. I have to find funds to make up for our deficit, which means either laying people off, or cutting some programs." She heaved a sigh and closed her eyes. In that moment, Sakura didn't envy the woman or her title. Tsunade had the utmost of faith in her, even to this day, but it was evident that the job was taking quite a toll on her.

"Well, whatever you choose, we support you." Sakura put a hand to her shoulder and smiled, a gesture that was no returned. "You're doing a great job, Shizune."

"I could do an even better time if my physicians showed up on time," She replied with a scowl, taking a few steps in the opposite direction. "From now on, set multiple alarms, Sakura." With another sigh, the woman turned on her heel and made her way through the hall, disappearing around the corner that lead into the administration wing of the hospital. As soon as she was out of sight, Sakura let out a breath and put a hand to her forehead.

Even if she had set two alarms, she probably wouldn't have even noticed them. But, that was what she got for staying up too late. The thought of her night made the tops of her cheeks turn pink and she quickly unlocked her office door and pushed her way inside. She was thankful for the soft breeze of the AC that blew from the vent in the ceiling, cooling the warmth of her face.

After a few minutes of enjoying the feel of it, she peeled her purse strap over her head and dumped it into the chair pushed into the corner of her office. She dropped the stack of papers onto her desk and sank into her own chair, pushing her hair away from her face. Her eyes stared down at the wood grain surface, though her thoughts were a million miles away.

It was hard enough to believe she had actually been late to a board meeting, but knowing she was late because she had stayed awake too late masturbating was just embarrassing. Even with no one knowing the truth, she was ashamed of herself. Not from the actual act of masturbating. No, that was something she had become desensitized to in the first couple of months of Sasuke's absence from the village. It was the fact that she had touched herself, brought herself to orgasm not once, or twice, but three times, with someone in mind that was not her boyfriend.

Kakashi was the very last person she should have been thinking about, but the moment she got home from the theater, he had been in her mind, plaguing every thought. She had tried to get him out of her mind while cooking herself dinner, while reading through a few magazines...nothing worked. His words, those whispered words that ignited a fire she thought was long extinguished inside her, echoed through her thoughts over and over again.

She found herself touching her face the way he had, trying to mimic the way it felt so she could convince herself that it was just the touch, not the person doing it. When that failed, she laid in bed, staring at the dark ceiling, fingers drumming over her stomach while she forced herself not to reach beneath the covers. It was close to two in the morning when she gave up trying to keep her hands out of her panties.

The first orgasm came so suddenly, barely two strokes into it, that Sakura barely had time to even conjure up a fantasy in her mind. She ignored how absolutely drenched she was, chalking it up to not being able to actually relieve her tension from the night she was so rudely interrupted by Naruto. The second time, she had tried, really and truly tried not to think of him.

She thought of the last time Sasuke had come back to the village. They had ended up having sex on her living room floor after some drinks and Sakura tried to imagine it happening again. But, the familiar black hair soon morphed into silver and it was no longer Sasuke's face staring down at her in her mind. It was masked face with dark eyes that watched her through her fantasies, narrowed and full of mischief.

She had came hard the second time, arching her back off the bed with a moan that she was sure would wake her neighbors. Even in the minutes afterward, trying to catch her breath and regain her sanity, Sakura couldn't believe what she had done. She had pleasured herself to thoughts of her patient...her nineteen-year-old patient. And as if that wasn't bad enough, her body refused to let her drift to sleep, even after two orgasms.

For the third, she gave up and let her fantasies about Kakashi run wild. She imagined him in the theater with her in the back row of the seats. It was dark, just like he had wanted it, and despite the other people scattered throughout the seats in front of them, he had dropped to his knees in front of her. She pictured him pulling that mask down, the room too dark for him to see his face, but the thought of his tongue slipping between her folds, lapping up the juices dripping from within her-

The phone on Sakura's desk rang out and she nearly leapt out of her chair, sucking in a deep gasp of breath as her heart raced out of control. She snatched the phone and put it to her ear with a breathless, "Haruno Sakura's office."

"Sakura-sensei, you have a call on line one. It's a patient requesting they speak to you. Are you available to take the call?" The girl at the front desk asked in a voice that was far too chipper for Sakura's mood. Leaning back in her chair, she pinched her fingers around the bridge of her nose.

"Sure, send them through."

"Will do!"

The line clicked, followed by a beep that let Sakura know that the call had been transferred. She took a deep breath and crossed her legs at the knees. "Haruno Sakura speaking."

"Good morning," A familiar voice purred on the other end of the phone, nearly making her tip the chair over backwards. Sakura scrambled forward until all four legs of her chair were safely on the ground, though her pulse was elevated once again. Which wasn't the only thing in her body reacting to his voice. Her thighs clamped shut and voice hid at the back of her throat. "I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."

Sakura scanned her desk, eyes lifting to the computer she still hadn't bothered to turn on. She pressed her thumb onto the power button and shook her head. "No, you're fine. I just got into the office, actually."

"At nearly ten?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I seemed to have slept through my alarms this morning." Why the hell was she telling him this? The last person who needed to know why she was late was Kakashi. Though, she doubted she'd ever be able to admit to him exactly why she was late, she didn't want to even give herself a chance to confess it. "Is everything alright?"

His soft laughter sank through her ear and she pressed her palm to her forehead, so very thankful no one could see how utterly preposterous she was acting at the moment. "I'm fine, for the most part."

"That doesn't sound reassuring," Sakura scowled, cradling the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she typed her username into the computer. "It's alright if you're not okay. You are human after all, Hatake-san."

She heard him give a slight hiss on his end and her heart skipped a beat. It sounded almost like he was in pain and she automatically assumed the worst. "I thought we agreed to be on a first name basis with one another, _Sakura_."

Sakura bit her lip as his voice dropped low as he spoke her name. God damnit, why was he having this effect on her? She was thirty-three years old, far too old to be letting men get under her skin. But, that was exactly where he had been lodged since the moment she first met him, a constant source of heat and tension right beneath the first few layers of her skin. "You're right. I apologize."

"There's no need," he said with a smile that she could hear in his tone. "But, you can make it up to me."

Again, she clenched her thighs tight and tried to keep the flurry of dirty thoughts from running wild in her mind. "Why does that make me nervous?" She asked, hoping he wouldn't turn it around and torture her some more. She was already having triple orgasms from the mere thought of him. Anything more and she might not survive.

When he laughed in her ear, she wanted to drop her head onto her desk and bang her forehead a few times against it. "Do I make you nervous, Sakura?" Yes. A thousand times, _yes_. She refused to admit that to him though.

"Let's just discuss what you need from me, Kakashi." _Fuck!_ That wasn't any better than admitting to him that he did in fact make her nervous. In a way, this was worse. She was setting him up to whisper more innuendos to her which would in turn lead to her staying up way too late, trying _not_ to touch herself to the memory of his voice. Fuck, she was an absolute mess and it was all because of Kakashi.

"As fun as it would be to discuss what I'd like from you, I do actually need your medical advice."

She felt her bottom lip poke out in a little pout. Was she actually upset he didn't take the bait she so carelessly dangled in front of him? This was a good thing, no matter how much her body was begging for more fodder for her overactive imagination. Frowning, Sakura pushed the hair from her face and slid her chair closer to the desk. "What seems to be the problem?"

"It's my side. At first, it was only hurting when I stood up or tried to bend over. But, over the last day or so, it's more frequent."

His complaints were typical of a wound of that type and Sakura knew she was going to have to heal him instead of hoping it sorted itself out on its own. Quickly, she pulled her up onto the computer screen and looked at what appointments she had for the afternoon. Though seeing him so soon after fantasizing about him all night wasn't exactly something she wanted at the moment, she didn't want him to be in pain either. "Can you be here this afternoon at…" She paused, checking the times of her other appointments and finally finding a thirty-minute block. "Three?"

"Three sounds great. I'll see you then."

They said their goodbyes and Sakura created a new appointment in her schedule on the computer. Seeing his name on the screen, black type against a green block, made her chew her lip with worry. The cursor blinked, waiting for her to confirm the appointment and she took a deep breath before pressing the enter button to seal her fate.

She had fifteen minutes before her first appointment for the day and she was thankful that she had left herself some time available for the meeting. And what she planned to do during that fifteen minutes went against a lot of her moral code of ethics. But, her curiosity was too damn strong to ignore. After only a few moments of hesitation, she reached for the keys on her desk and leaned down to unlock the bottom drawer.

It slid open easily to reveal the familiar off-limits charts. The one marked K. Hatake stuck out just a bit more than the others and she stared down at the tab with his name on it. Well, if she was going to go against her rules, she might as well get it over with. Sakura pulled the chart out and dropped it onto her desk, eagerly opening the front of the folder.

The first few pages were basic information; his marital status, emergency contacts, and previous illnesses. She avoided the year he was born and instead flipped to the nursing section. His vitals were perfect and had been since his very first visit. It seemed he was in tip-top shape. In fact, he hadn't so much as had the chickenpox throughout his life.

Before Sakura could close the chart, too disgusted with herself to keep looking through his file, she caught sight of another date that stuck out to her. His last physical had been more than a year ago and he had been scheduled to return in June for one. He was nearly three months overdue.

The professional in her knew that it was important for shinobi to have a yearly physical and that she should either make room for him today or schedule him within the next few days. However, the nervous, pathetic loser inside of her refused. She would have to pass him off on someone else. There was no way she could be the one to do it. Seeing him shirtless was bad enough. Having to touch him, evaluate him, all while he was stripped down to his boxers would be physically impossible.

There was no way she'd be the one to it. No way in _hell_.

* * *

AN- Oh Sakura...we all know there's no way in hell you could resist seeing more of Kakashi's anatomy ;)


	5. Alone Time

By two-thirty, Sakura was a mess. She had paced the floor of her office so many times in the past hour, she was beginning to wear down the carpet. In less than thirty minutes, she'd be face to face with him again. Would she even be able to look him in the eye after what she had done last night? Sure, he didn't know anything about it, but she could still remember coming from the thought of him between her legs, using his tongue to-

 _No!_ She couldn't let herself get distracted by her fantasies again. They had been plaguing her mind all damn day and she was going to put a stop to them once and for all. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts during one appointment that she had almost mistakenly administered a shot of testosterone to an elderly woman. All because she was so distracted by an attractive man taking notice in her.

God, was that all this was? Was her self-esteem that wrecked that a little bit of attention from a male makes her this silly? Sighing, Sakura stopped just between the two chairs in front of her desk and lifted her face to the ceiling. She had to get a grip. Even if he was attracted to her, even if he did _like_ her, there was no way she could ever act on it.

Not until she knew where she stood with Sasuke. Until then, she would just have to suck it up and deal with this situation like a mature, professional adult. And honestly, even if he was actually interested in her, that didn't mean she had to give in to him. She was perfectly capable of keeping her hands to herself.

Which was what she told herself over and over, even after joining the injured shinobi in one of the exam rooms at five after three. Clutching his chart between her arm and chest, Sakura instructed Kakashi to sit on the bed and lay back. He watched her move through the room, his eyes so focused on her that it made her body temperature elevate slightly. She ignored his gaze and opened his chart, knowing exactly what to say but unable to actually make the words come out.

Clearing her throat, Sakura turned to glance back at him from over her shoulder. "You're overdue for a physical by three months. Do you want to go ahead and schedule that today?" Perfect! She was feeling more confident by the second and if she could hold onto this professionalism for the next twenty minutes, she'd be in the clear.

"Couldn't we do it now?" There was a touch of humor in his tone and she resisted the urge to scowl at him. Instead, she gave him her best Doctor Haruno smile.

"Unfortunately, I have another appointment at three-thirty. But I'd be more than happy to schedule you to come back in a couple of weeks. I'd like to wait until your ribs are healed a bit more as well." With that, she closed his chart, snatched a pair of gloves from the box on the counter and turned to him. "Inuzaka-sensei has a few openings in the coming weeks."

Kakashi looked at her from the bed, his eyebrow arching curiously. Though the look made her feel a bit light headed, she stayed strong and repeated her newfound mantra in her head. _I'm perfectly capable of handling this like a professional adult. I can keep my hands to myself,_ she swore to herself, holding his gaze despite wanting nothing more than to turn away from him and take a deep breath.

"Inuzaka-sensei isn't my physician. Why would she be the one doing my physical?"

"Well," Sakura started, feeling her strength and resolve crumbling a bit. "She did your physical last year, and the year before that. Since you're Anbu, you don't have a lot of choices seeing as how your identity has to remain anonymous. There are only a few physicians you can-"

"Are you one of those physicians?" Kakashi folded his arms behind his head and stared at her, the glint in his eyes catching the lights overhead. Almost instantly, Sakura's mouth went dry and she blinked at him.

"I am," she replied in a quiet voice that sounded nothing like the strong, professional adult she was trying so hard to be. "But, my schedule-"

"You don't want to do it?"

"That's not...I didn't say that." What was happening? She was alone with him for less than five minutes and he was already starting to weasel his way back under her skin. Pressing a hand to her forehead, she shook her head and sighed. She had to get the upper hand on things again. "Let's just figure all of that out once we get you healed. Now," Okay, this was it. She had to say the one thing she was terrified to say to him. The words were stuck like glue to the back of her throat and she swallowed hard, trying to dislodge them. "I need you to take your shirt off."

Though she sounded as if she were terrified to actually speak the words into existence, she was relieved that she had gotten them out without her voice cracking like a prepubescent boy. The hard part was over. She knew what to expect. This wouldn't be the first time seeing him shirtless, after all.

But, somehow, it _was_ different. Sakura's eyes were glued to him despite her trying to force herself to look away and Kakashi kept his locked onto her. He slowly pulled his Jōnin vest away from his body, sitting up to toss it onto the extra chair pushed against the wall. All Sakura could hear was the swish of fabric and the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she watched. His fingers gathered his shirt at the back of his neck and he lifted it over his head.

In the split second his face was hidden behind the material, Sakura let her gaze flicker down to his body, taking in the myriad of scars across his chest. She noted the purplish-green bruise still evident on his left side, looking better but not by much, before she found herself swallowing tightly. Warmth pooled across her midsection and she felt her thighs clench, her body remembering all too well the images she had conjured up about him last night. It was begging for the real thing now and she quickly squashed the feelings away, sweeping them under the rug to forget about them until she could be back in her bed tonight.

Somehow, she found the strength to tear her gaze away from him and focused instead on pulling the latex gloves onto her fingers. Luckily, her head was down when he finally removed the shirt and looked up at her. He tossed the garment onto the chair and laid supine on the exam bed. Snapping her gloves in place, Sakura moved to the left side of the bed and refused to allow herself to meet his gaze.

She reached for his arm, turning it over so she could see the healing burns along his elbow and shoulder. The swelling had gone down, and it seemed that he had managed to avoid an infection, which meant at least he was being compliant with his antibiotics. Laying his arm back down on the bed beside him, she moved to examine the bruise across his ribs. "So, you've been having pain?" Sakura lifted her gaze to him as he nodded. She placed both of her palms over the bruise and gathered a bit of chakra into her hands. "How would you describe it?"

Kakashi took a deep breath and as the cool flow of chakra entered his body, he shivered. "Nothing I can't handle, but it has gotten a bit annoying. I couldn't sleep last night." Funny, neither could she. Sakura quickly pushed the thoughts down, feeling that warmth from earlier spreading to her face.

She turned her concentration to the chakra in her hands and let it encompass the hairline fractures in his ribs. They weren't worse, but she could feel a bit of inflammation around the muscles and intercostal tissue between the bones. While she was there, she soothed the swelling and left a bit of her chakra around the fractures to keep them from worsening. Again, Kakashi shivered as he pulled the energy from his body and Sakura couldn't help noticing the goosebumps emerging across his chest.

Turning to the cabinets along the wall, she hid her smile and snatched a stethoscope from one of the drawers. "Have you noticed any discomfort from taking deep breaths?" She lifted her eyebrows to him as he shook his head.

"Not really."

She took her place beside the bed again and blew two breaths against the diaphragm of the stethoscope, just in case it was cold. "I'm just going to listen to you breathe for a second. Take a deep breath for me," she pressed it against his chest directly over his left lung. He did as she asked and inhaled deeply, holding it as she listened for anything out of the ordinary. "And exhale."

Her little finger slipped from the bell of the stethoscope and grazed the skin against his chest. It was smooth and cool to the touch with just a dusting of hair that tickled the back of her knuckles. As she pulled the stethoscope to the middle of his chest, she passed over his heart. Her hand refused to move on, forcing her to listen to his elevated pulse. Either he had a fast heart rate, which was unlikely considering his peak, physical condition, or he was feeling anxious.

Sakura's gaze flickered up to his face and she felt her own breath freeze in her lungs. He was watching her with a look in his eyes that she could only guess matched the one in her own. Desire and temptation swirled between them, a heady mix of warm breath and pounding heart rates. Just like the day he had walked her to the theater, she could feel the tension spike and her mind was a frenzy of thoughts.

The bell of the stethoscope slipped from her fingers as she spread her hand across his chest and felt the beat of his heart against her palm. It was beating faster than it had been earlier and his breath was quick and shallow. Sakura bit her lower lip and couldn't resist closing her eyes, feeling a bit drunk off the arousal coursing through her. It clouded her head, fucked with her judgment and she was left powerless to stop anything from happening.

Kakashi lifted a hand from the bed, the back of his fingers grazing over the buttons of her lab coat. He curled the fabric into his fist and pulled her closer, his eyes searching hers before drifting down to her lips. This was it. He was going to kiss her, and she wanted nothing more than to feel his lips against her. Professionalism be damned. She _needed_ to feel him and taste him on her tongue.

Unfortunately, and probably for her own good, fate had other plans for her that day. The intercom system buzzed, and a static voice sounded from the speaker at the door. "Haruno-sensei?" Sakura jerked the earpieces of the stethoscope away from her head and deposited the whole thing onto the counter as she crossed the room in a flash.

Somehow, she managed to lift her shaking fingers to the button. "Yes?" She snapped impatiently. The warmth of desire was slowly starting to fade from her body and all that was left was utter mortification. How could she have let it go that far? It should have never happened. What happened to her mature, professional mantra she had repeated to herself all afternoon?

"There's a situation that needs you in the Emergency Department. Should I tell them you're in an appointment-"

"No, I'll be there," Sakura tried to keep her voice collected and not so sharp, but she was feeling a bit pissed. She was angry with herself for dropping her guard, angry at Kakashi for making her _want_ this and absolutely furious that they had been interrupted. With a sigh, she released the button for the intercom and took half a second to gather herself.

As she turned to the counter, she didn't even glance Kakashi's way. It would be way too tempting to pick things up where they had left off, and as miserably turned on as she was, she knew it was for the best that she stay away. She grabbed her pen and moved to his chart, scribbling her notes in his progress section. "You can get dressed," she mumbled, hoping it was loud enough for him to hear her.

After only a moment's hesitation, she heard him slip off the edge of the exam table and reach for the shirt and vest he had thrown into the chair. "Sakura," he said quietly, his voice sinking through her and settling deep within her bones. She fought the shiver that threatened to cascade down her spine and ignored him.

"I'll call you in a prescription for some anti-inflammatory pain medication."

When he spoke again, he was closer to her and this time, she couldn't help her body reacting to his nearness. She shut her eyes and clenched her fist around the pen. "Sakura, I'm trying to apologize to you." He sounded remorseful, but she didn't trust herself, or him for that matter, to be this close.

"There's nothing to apologize for," she managed to say, clicking her pen with her thumb. "Nothing happened."

"No, but I wanted something to happen and I feel like I should apologize for being-"

Sakura turned to face him, noticing in a quick glance that he had dressed himself once more and silently thanking the heavens that he had. She forced a smile and held her hand up, careful not to let it touch him. "It's not necessary," her voice was full of forced politeness and it made even her flinch at how clinical she sounded. The frown in Kakashi's eyes made her regret it instantly but she knew it was for the best. "I'll speak with Inuzaka-sensei about scheduling your physical exam and if you don't have any more pain, I will see you in three weeks for your final follow-up before I clear you to return to the field."

She brushed past him, refusing to let herself inhale his scent and managed to reach he door before he spoke again. "Wait." Her hand hesitated on the curved handle. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" he paused to push a hand through his hair with a smile. "I just...I like you. I know you have a boyfriend and I didn't come here with the intention to force you into a situation like this. Even if you say it's unnecessary, I still want you to know that I'm sorry."

Sakura swallowed and risked a peek back at him, taking her bottom lip between her teeth at the sight of his head ducked down like a scolded child. Either he truly felt sorry for what had happened, or _almost_ happened, or he was really good at playing the sad, little puppy act. Something told her it was a mix between the two, but she couldn't help the tug at the corner of her lips. "It's fine. I understand," she paused only for a second. Her brain was having a hard time keeping up with her mouth and while it tried to form a decent goodbye to him, she said the one thing she probably shouldn't have. "I wanted it too."

Kakashi lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers so suddenly and with such a look of surprise that she was thankful she was holding onto the handle of the door still. The momentary surprise quickly transformed into the mischievous glint she had seen before. His mask shifted as he smiled, and Sakura felt the clench of muscles deep within her at the thought of what it could possibly look like on his face.

She had to get out of there, _fast_. If she didn't, she would be too tempted to close the distance between them and jump into his arms. Shaking her head, she cleared her throat and pulled on the door handle, opening it just a crack. "I have to...to go." There was no time for formal goodbyes or anything more. One more minute alone with him and she wouldn't be able to stop herself.

The sudden rush of air in the hallway blew the hair away from her face and neck and she was thankful for the cool breeze against her heated skin. She wasn't sure how she managed _not_ to look back at him, but she was thankful when she reached her office and could shut the door behind her. In the silence and calm behind closed doors, she let out a breath and leaned against the filing cabinet to her right.

All in all, it went a lot better than she expected it to. She just hoped that she could corner Hana and convince her to squeeze Kakashi's physical into her schedule. After what had happened today, it was clear that she couldn't be trusted to be alone with him.


	6. Perfect Gentleman

.

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* * *

"And why do you want to pawn this guy off on me?" Hana Inuzuka asked on the other end of the phone, making Sakura sigh and drop her head into her hands. It was the one question she wasn't exactly prepared to answer, and one she had hoped wouldn't be popping up.

It had been two days since the incident with Kakashi and she still wasn't over it. She could add it to the growing list of _incidents_ that she shared with him, but it was definitely the one that made her sweat. Even now, a few days later, she could still recall the way he had gripped her lab coat and pulled her closer to him. Had they not been interrupted, there was no telling how far she'd have let him go.

"Because," she said, wracking her brain for a good enough excuse to give her colleague. "He's over due for his yearly physical and I'm booked up." It was a lie, one that she hoped Hana wouldn't be able to see through. Her schedule for the next two weeks was frustratingly light, as if some annoying higher power had it in for her these days.

"Mmhmm," Hana hummed on the other end of the line. "Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with the fact that this guy's trying to put the moves on you?"

Sakura was thankful that it was late, and no one was in the hallway beyond her office. If there had been someone walking by the open door, they would have seen the medic's jaw drop and her face flush dark crimson. How could Hana have known? Was she psychic? No, that was ridiculous. Especially considering the fact that they were mutual friends with a common denominator that loved to gossip. _Ino_.

She was going to kill that pig.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sakura sighed and tried to regain her composure. "I will admit that that is a _fraction_ of the reason why I'm asking you. Also, if you see Ino before I do, you can tell that I'll kill her."

Hana laughed. "I'll be sure to tell her. Just, schedule the guy with me sometime next week when I have an opening."

"Thank you," Sakura breathed before saying her goodbyes and setting the phone back down on the receiver. She took a moment to just sit still as her thoughts raced. It wasn't that surprising that Ino would have been spilling the details of Sakura's rendezvous with Kakashi the other day. It had been all she had wanted to talk about throughout the movie, even after they were shushed by several other patrons, much to Sakura's mortification.

With another sigh, she made a mental note to kick Yamanaka's ass the next time she saw her and turned to the computer screen at her left. Just as she managed to pull up Hana's schedule and find a free hour-block for next week, the phone at her desk rang. Not many people knew her direct line, which meant either Shizune was working late tonight, or Hana was calling her back. Gods, she hoped she hadn't changed her mind.

Sakura reached to snatch the phone from beside her. "Don't tell me you've changed your mind already, Inuzuka."

There was a brief pause on the other end, just long enough for Sakura to realize that maybe she had been wrong about who was calling her. And when they spoke, her breath froze in her lungs. "Guess again." Kakashi's smooth voice filled her ear and made her swallow.

"Kakashi? How do you have my direct number?"

He chuckled, and she glanced nervously to the door, hoping no one would be right outside to listen to her nervously talk to the guy she most certainly should not have a crush on. She was far too old for crushes to begin with. Having one on someone so much younger was out of the question. "The girl at the front desk told me your extension. I think she was tired of me calling so often. You're working awfully late tonight, by the way."

"You're calling late," Sakura retorted, leaning back in her chair to cross her legs beneath her desk. "Is everything alright?"

"For the most part. I was just planning to leave you a message to request some more of that burn ointment, but I much prefer to talk to you than your answering machine." She could hear the smile in his voice, that gorgeous, flirtatious smirk that for some reason left her feeling quite warm. Even now, when she couldn't even see it, her body began to grow hot at the thought of it. It made her clamp her lip between her teeth, struggling to find a proper response. Unfortunately, nothing very _proper_ came to mind.

"Well, I'd be more than happy to give you some more ointment. You can come by to pick it up from the pharmacy tomorrow."

"Why _are_ you working so late?" Kakashi ignored her proper response and she couldn't help rolling her eyes at him. Every time she tried to be professional with him, he had to make things so much more difficult. Couldn't he see how much she struggled when it came to him? Of course, he could see her struggling. He liked making her squirm.

It would be no use to continue the charade of being the professional physician with him. He would just ignore it anyway. Cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder, Sakura stood from her desk and circled her desk to kick her office door shut. It was better to be safe than have someone walk by and hear her giggling like a little girl while on the phone. "I wish I could say that I'm just _that_ dedicated. Unfortunately, my office is much better than being home at the moment."

"Oh?" The curiosity was practically dripping from his voice. "Everything alright?" It was his turn to sound like the concerned physician and Sakura couldn't help the small smile at the corner of her lips.

"It would seem that my thermostat is on the fritz. It's been blasting me with heat for the past week which is frustrating seeing as how we've had an unseasonable warm front the last few days." Sakura returned to her swivel chair behind her desk and glanced to the computer screen. It displayed Hana's schedule, the hour block she had found next Thursday blinking, waiting for an appointment to be added. With one hand, she typed in Kakashi's chart number and reserved the hour for his physical, pressing enter with a tap of her middle finger.

"Is it the new digital kind of thermostats?" Kakashi asked, making her blink.

"Yes, which makes me sound like an old fogie who can't figure out this new-fangled technology."

He laughed, the sound sending butterflies fluttering against the inside of her stomach. How could she know nothing about this guy and still be turned on by so much of him? Just hearing him laugh or seeing him smirk down at her sent her hormones in a frenzy, like she was sixteen all over again. It wasn't fair. "You're not old. I had similar issues with mine when they put it in last year. Want me to come take a look?"

Oh, that would be far too dangerous. Being alone with Kakashi in the hospital room wasn't even a good idea. There would be no way for her to resist him in the privacy of her own home, so close to a bed. Scowling playfully, she slowly rotated back and forth in her chair, tapping her fingers along the edge of her desk. "I don't think that would be such a good idea."

"Why?" His voice was deep and rasping, and Sakura's eyes fluttered at the sound of it. He was going to be the death of her, she could already tell.

"You _know_ why. Besides, the repairmen will be out next week to fix it." She was almost certain none of them would be even a fraction of how hot Kakashi was. Hell, there weren't many men left in the village who could even come close to compare to him as it were. Which was exactly why she couldn't let herself be alone with him.

"And they'll charge you a fortune for a simple fix. Let me look at it, as a way to repay you for helping me so much the last few days." He was driving quite a hard bargain and Sakura could feel her resolve slipping as he persisted. She brought her thumbnail to her mouth and bit down, so torn between her two options.

Having him in her house, being alone with him, it was exactly what she wanted. It was what she had been craving since the day he had walked her to the theater. And it was exactly why she should tell him _no_. But he was offering her free repairs to an issue she was miserable with. The last few nights, she had slept completely naked due to the heat, and even with fans and her windows open, she had little relief.

The longer she hesitated to answer him, the easier it was to see that she would cave to him. And Kakashi knew it. "Besides, I'm going a bit stir crazy being on medical leave and all." And there it was. He was playing hard ball and she rolled her eyes at his response.

"Oh, I see how it is. Fine," Sakura sighed. She couldn't believe she was giving in to him like this so easily. "You can come take a look at my thermostat. But I expect you to be on your best behavior."

On the other end of the line, she heard him make humming sound deep within his chest that sent flames licking at her insides. She closed her eyes, already aware that this would be a big mistake and only emphasized by him saying, "Yes ma'am."

* * *

Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets and lifted his face to the sky, letting the morning sunshine warm him. It was strange not walking with a book between his hands, but he didn't think he'd be able to concentrate much on _Icha-Icha Violence_ at the moment. His brain was having enough trouble comprehending the fact that he was on his way to Haruno Sakura's house without adding the smut-filled passages to distract him.

Their conversation the previous night had been on repeat in his mind from the moment he hung up the phone until now. She had been trying so hard to say no to him. He was happy she hadn't. He was excited to see her again after their little moment they shared in the exam room.

Gods, he could have done so many things to her if they hadn't been so rudely interrupted. Thinking back to the way her eyes had gone wide and her lips parted as he pulled her close made him sigh with a small smile. He had wanted nothing more than to kiss her in that moment. He could see she had wanted it as well and when she confessed that she did, his heart had skipped multiple beats in a row.

It seemed almost a shame that he had promised himself he'd be on his best behavior today. No ulterior motives, no tricks up his sleeves. He just wanted to see her… and fix her thermostat, of course. He could see how nervous he made her, and while that usually meant good things for him, he didn't want to scare her off.

Sakura was different than the girl's his age. Most of the girls he had been out with or slept with treated him like a conquest. It must have been something special in their clique of friends to bed the famous Copy Ninja. Not that he minded being a trophy. One-night stands satisfied him just as well as his own hand ever could, and he never had need for a more lasting relationship than a brief encounter.

But Sakura wasn't like the girls who whispered about him and giggled when he looked their way. She wasn't nineteen, naïve, or interested in a conquest. She was a woman. A woman with no time for bullshit who could probably decimate fifty men with a single punch. From the moment she had snapped at Hokage-sama, he had been smitten.

Kakashi had crushes before. He was only human after all. But his crushes usually didn't last long, and the girls would end up in his bed before long. None had resisted him as long as Sakura had. Sure, that was mostly because she wasn't exactly single, but she had told him she wanted him and from what gossip he could dig up about her elusive boyfriend, he hadn't been back to Konoha in _months_.

Sakura was human, as well. She had needs, desires and urges. Was she expected to actually put her life on hold and _wait_ for her absent partner to find time to make a visit? The woman _needed_ some attention. It was clear to anyone that came within twenty yards of her that she was wound far too tight for a woman her age.

And who was Kakashi to deny her of those desires if she asked him to provide her with some much-needed care? It was his duty to oblige her.

But it wouldn't be today. Today he would be a perfect gentleman and help her with her thermostat. And if she did happen to ask him to relieve some of the tension that he could practically _smell_ on her, he would just have to decline. If he could. He was only human, after all.

Kakashi chuckled to himself and made his way through the streets of the village, unable to deny that he had a certain bounce in his step. He was eager to see the new ways he could make Sakura squirm today, especially in her own home. He could almost see the flustered look on her face already. Her cheeks would turn such a sexy shade of pink and he could tell it had been a long time since anyone had made her blush. He never expected to like it so much.

Trying to force the smile away, Kakashi turned onto the street Sakura had given him last night and paused at the corner. She had told him her house was the third one down, two stories with a brown, tiled roof. The exterior was painted a sandy color that had been faded from the sun, but the upper level windows had flower boxes that added personality to the house. It suited Sakura, even down to the untrimmed hedges that poked out from behind the iron fence.

There was no hiding his smile now and he was thankful for the mask hiding his face as he strolled toward her home. He stood by the gate and peered up at the open windows, wondering if she had been watching for him from behind the curtains. They had planned for him to be there around nine, but he had to make her wait for him and he hoped she was pissed that he was now showing up an hour late.

Seeing her angry was almost as sexy as seeing her flustered. Taking his time, he made his way up the path to her front door and leaned a shoulder against the brick. He knocked and barely three seconds later, the front door swung open. The first the he noticed was the warm air wafting from the inside. The second thing he noticed was how she was dressed.

He had expected her to look adorable. She always did, after all. But he hadn't been expecting her to look like _this_. It immediately threw him off guard and once again, he was thankful the mask hid the shock on his face.

Her pink hair had been pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head with a few strands loose and hanging around her face. He had been right about her being angry. It was written across her narrowed eyes and furrowed brows. If he wasn't too distracted by her body, he'd have loved to stare at her face. But his gaze drifted slowly down the length of her body, surprised to see the loose, faded cotton T-shirt and the shortest pair of shorts he had ever seen. Any shorter and they'd be panties. Not that he was complaining.

The black shorts had two white stripes up the side that accentuated the curve of her hip, and made her legs look long and pale in contrast to the color. His fingers already itched to reach out and touch them. _Damn,_ he thought, _maybe this will be harder than I thought._

"You said _nine_ ," Sakura said, lifting her chin as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her words made his eyes snap back up to hers and he cleared his throat with a short laugh to buy him time to think of something clever to say. Unfortunately, he had nothing. His mind was just begging him to stare down at her body some more.

He shrugged a shoulder. "I must have set my alarm for nine PM, instead of AM. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's fine," she said, taking a step away from the door so he could come in. Kakashi couldn't help noticing her checking to make sure no one outside saw him coming into her home. With the door now shut behind them, he found it a bit difficult to keep his mind from wandering into the gutter. It was tempting to make a move, but he didn't want to scare her off. "I'm sorry it's so hot."

His eyebrows lifted and for a moment, he forgot all about the broken thermostat he was there to fix. He followed her into the house a bit more and finally managed to tear his eyes away from her body to take a look around. The interior matched the outside. Everything was clean and organized, the walls sparsely decorated. There was a room right to the left of the foyer where a couch and television sat. Sakura moved into the room and lead him to a hallway between the living room and kitchen.

Kakashi stepped up behind her and looked over her shoulder to where a digital thermostat was installed into the wall. It did look a lot like his. He took a step closer and looked at the main screen as Sakura crossed her arms over her chest with a sigh. "I turned the heat on last week when all the rain moved in and the temperatures dropped. I didn't expect this warm front to pop up afterward."

"Konoha weather is always unpredictable around this time of year," Kakashi mumbled as he studied the glowing screen on her hallway wall. Instantly, he saw the problem and the corner of his lips lifted in a smirk. He glanced to her as she watched him press one of the buttons on the side panel. "See this switch?"

Sakura leaned forward and nodded. With a quick tap, Kakashi switched the device from _Emergency Heat_ to the _Off_ position. He grinned as her jaw fell open. "How did you do that?"

"You turned on the Emergency Heat. I'm not exactly sure what it's for, but it keeps pumping heat continuously. You just have to cycle through the different modes until you find the _Off_ mode."

She pressed a hand to her forehead and gave a short, embarrassed laugh. "Wow, I feel extremely stupid, right now."

"Ah, you shouldn't," Kakashi said with a wave of his hand. "These new digital thermostats are a bit annoying to get used to." In the light of her hallway, Sakura lifted her face to look up at him and the tops of her cheeks were lit with that delicious pink tint that made Kakashi's heart beat race. In a flash, his body turned greedy, wanting nothing more than to pick up where they had been before being interrupted the other day.

 _For fuck's sake, man,_ he scolded himself. _Get a grip. You're acting like you're fourteen and she's the first woman you've ever had a crush on._ Clearing his throat, Kakashi took a step away from her. He had to put a bit of distance between them. The closer he was to her, the more he smelled the shampoo she used, and it was absolutely delicious.

"Thank you so much for this. You saved me from having to pay a repairman and I really appreciate it," Sakura said with a smile so sweet it made him want to kiss it right off of her. "I have your medicine as well. I thought it would be easier than making you go all the way to the hospital to pick it up." She rounded the corner from the hallway and Kakashi followed after, unable to keep his eyes from drifting to her backside. It looked as if it was the perfect size for a good handful, something he hoped he could test out in the future.

He leaned a shoulder against the doorway into the kitchen, watching her root around in the bottom of her work bag. She was flustered again. The corner of his lips lifted, and he realized he could probably just stand here and watch her all day. "I could have swore I put it in this bag," Sakura mumbled, dipping her hand even deeper inside. "Oh, here it is!"

She held out the tube of ointment and he curled his fingers around his, lifting his gaze to hers before he took it from her hands. "Thanks. You need anything else done around here?"

Sakura waved a hand with a shake of her head. "Oh, no. You've already done enough as it is. But, thank you for asking."

"You sure?"

For a moment, she blinked up at him and slowly took her bottom lip between her teeth. Gods, did she know what that did to him? If she did, she was cruel for making him witness it on a day he had promised to be a gentleman. It was becoming harder and harder to stick to that plan though. Thankfully, she spoke again before he could say 'fuck it' to being a good boy.

"Well, actually," she started, glancing to the living room. "I could use someone your height to help me. My water pressure is kind of shit, and I can't reach the switch to adjust it. If you have somewhere to be, don't worry about it. I don't want to keep you around here if you already have plans or—"

Kakashi grinned and pushed off the wall. "Sakura, it's fine. I'm all yours today." Her eyes widened briefly at his words and she quickly ducked her head to avoid his gaze. "Lead the way."

An hour later, he had fixed her water pressure, her heater, and helped change a light bulb in one of the light fixtures at the back door, which was where they currently stood together. Sakura watched him place the glass globe back over the bulb, her hands on her hips and a small smile curling at her lips. He tightened the screws holding the bowl in place and stepped back, giving her a nod. She flipped the switch inside the house and the light came on. The beaming smile of pride she gave him sent a fluttering sensation through his insides and he had to look away from her.

Kakashi took in her small back yard. There was a stone patio off the back steps and a small strip of grass that looked as neglected as the hedges by the front gate. A single birch tree stood in the corner of the yard, providing some shade to the patio. "You have a nice home," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Thank you." He noticed her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as she stepped beside him and looked out over the backyard. "I try to make it into what I want when I have time. I moved in three years ago and I'm still pulling things out of storage."

"Well, if you ever need help hanging picture frames or assembling furniture, you know where to find me."

"Yes, I do," She said with a grin, turning to look up at him. "It's nice to have a little help around here so thank you."

He knew better than to say his thoughts out loud. But he really couldn't help it this time. He was beyond curious to know what was up with her and her absent partner. There was only a split second of hesitation before he spoke. "Is your boyfriend not the type to help around the house?" He hadn't intended it to be mean and he hated that it was probably how she probably heard it.

With a deep breath, Sakura folded her arms over her chest and let it out with a sigh. "When he's home, I don't like to bother him with this kind of thing. But it doesn't really matter anymore."

Her words made his eyebrows raise to his hairline and he tried not to let her see the surprise written across his eyes. It didn't matter anymore? Did that mean she no longer _had_ a boyfriend? He forced himself not to smile as he glanced down at her. "Why doesn't it matter?"

She blinked as if she had forgotten he was there and shrugged. "He won't be coming home for a while." Her voice was quiet, but he had heard her loud and clear. Slowly, his eyebrow rose into an arch on his forehead and he clenched his fists tight before pushing them into his pockets. Despite wanting nothing more than to kiss her in that moment, he knew better.

He felt sorry for her. No one deserved to love someone who was never there for them. And though he had only known her for a short amount of time, he wanted her to be happy. She deserved it. Thinking about her being all alone in her home, having to struggle with things that couples usually did together, eating dinner by herself, was heart breaking. Thank the gods they didn't have any children. Being lonely while being _alone_ was hard enough.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think he's a fool."

Her gaze was narrowed and fiery as she lifted it to him. Ah, _that_ struck a nerve. "Well, you don't know him," she replied, her words short and clipped.

"No, and I'm glad I don't. Anyone who would choose to be away from you is an idiot."

Sakura scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "Oh, what a _line_! You can stop with the act because I'm not going to sleep with you." Whirling toward the door, she stomped back into her house and Kakashi quickly followed behind her. He didn't know how they were suddenly arguing, but it was strangely turning him on to see her so fired up.

They moved through her house and Sakura didn't stop until she was at the front door, pulling it open and standing to the side. "Thank you for your help, Kakashi, but I think this is where our relationship ends."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and pushed the door shut with a sigh. "I didn't mean to upset you. And I'm not giving you lines so you'll sleep with me. I meant what I said, whether you sleep with me or not." He folded his arms over his chest and hoped she wouldn't throw him out. He had heard rumors about her strength and didn't exactly want to have it tested on him.

"Oh, yeah, right. You mean to tell me you came all the way to my house today _just_ to fix my heater and you had _no_ ulterior motives to this little visit?" She crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at him with doubtful defiance. The way her lips pursed together as she fumed was adorable, but he knew better than to let her know that.

Kakashi held his hands up, palms toward her in surrender. "Hey, you're the one that brought up sex. I was just telling you the truth. You could have told me no when I asked if you wanted my help today." She considered his words and looked away from him, impatiently tapping her foot. It was quite clear that she didn't like being wrong, but he had done as he had planned. He had been a perfect gentleman the whole morning, never once mentioning anything naughty or making a move on her. But maybe she had expected him to do just that and now she was feeling a bit offended he hadn't. That thought made him smirk down at her.

After a moment, she shook her head with a scoff. "You don't exactly take no as an answer."

"I do, but you've never exactly told me no, have you?"

She opened her mouth to retort, a sarcastic remark on the tip of her tongue, but she quickly snapped her lips shut. Realization washed over her face as she truly thought about his words. Now it was Kakashi's turn to fold his arms over his chest. He lifted an eyebrow, provoking her to disagree with him. She couldn't.

Every time he had asked her out or made a move on her, she only ever gave him excuses. He wondered if she was going over all the times she had told him _I have a boyfriend_. Judging by the scowl on her face, she was. Her eyes lifted to his, held his stare for a moment, and quickly moved to the door. She reached to her left and grabbed the knob, pulling the door open. "Goodbye, Kakashi."

He chuckled but knew better than to push his luck. He stepped out of her house and turned back to face her, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe before she could slam it shut in his face. "Have dinner with me."

" _Kakashi,_ " she warned through clenched teeth. He waited for a moment, expecting her to tell him no and slam the door in his face. When she didn't, he grinned.

"As friends. Tomorrow night."

Behind him, a woman was dragging a broom across the front doorstep of the house across the street, well within eyesight. Sakura's jade eyes widened, and she gently pushed Kakashi's shoulder away from the door. "Fine," she whispered, glancing from the woman back up to his face. "But, _just_ as friends."

"Of course," he said with a wink that made her face brighten to that shade of pink he was growing to adore. "Unless you want more."

" _Goodbye_ , Kakashi." The door shut before her words could even finish, but he had seen the corner of her lips lift at the last second. He took two steps backward and looked up at her house, biting his bottom lip. He wished he could see her in that moment. Did she have the same stupid grin on her face as he had? Were the butterflies going crazy in her stomach?

For a second, he debated on whether to press his luck and knock on the door again, but in the end, he turned to face the street and pushed his hands into his pockets. The woman sweeping her stoop smiled politely to him before returning to her chores. Kakashi sighed contentedly and lifted his face up to the sky, letting the afternoon sunshine warm him.

In the back of his mind, a little voice that he tried to ignore and was never welcome chimed in, interrupting his good mood. _What are you doing, Kakashi? She's involved with someone else and you don't need to stick your nose where it doesn't belong!_ Kakashi scowled and dipped his hands into the pocket of his vest, finding the familiar press of his _Icha-Icha Violence._

He didn't need that unnecessary negativity clouding his mind at the moment, distracting him from his happier thoughts. Kakashi pressed a thumb to the center of the pages and smiled down at the book. He had stopped on his favorite chapter and as he read onward, he now pictured the main, female character as a woman with jade eyes and pastel pink hair.


	7. Sparks

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Sakura was frantic, standing half in her tub and half out while try ing to shave her legs and not have a panic attack at the same time. She had made it perfectly clear that having dinner with Kakashi was _not_ a date, and it wasn't. It was dinner between friends. Kakashi was _just_ her friend.

A friend she fantasized and touched herself while thinking about.

Oh, gods, what was she thinking? Why had she agreed to this?

 _Because it's been 11 months since a man had looked at you the way Kakashi does and you're sick of waiting months for a little physical contact._ She blew a strip of hair away from her forehead and swiped her pink razor up the side of her shin, careful not to cut herself. It was still warm enough out to wear a skirt, and for some reason that she couldn't really think about right now, she wanted to look nice for this non-date _thing_.

But, no matter how much she convinced herself that they were just friends, this was not a date, and she could—and would—keep her hands to herself tonight, she was still freaking out. The last time she had been near Kakashi, standing in her doorway, she had wanted so badly to pull him back into her house and to kiss that insufferable smirk (that she couldn't exactly _see,_ but knew it was there) right off of his face. And that was after they had argued!

How did she think she was going to react to him actually being nice and being his usual cool, flirty self? She knew she would be putty in his hands, much to her frustration. He already had her in frenzy, shaving her legs and trying to find something cute to wear and it was two hours before they had agreed to meet. She needed help. Professional help that only one person could give her.

After her legs were thoroughly rid of any unwanted hair, she toweled them off and applied enough lotion to make her moisturized for days. With a quick glance in the mirror, Sakura rolled her eyes at herself. She was flushed from the edge of the yellow towel tucked around her chest to the matching one wrapped around her wet hair.

Growling at her body for reacting so hormonally to this _non-date_ , she crossed into her bedroom, sat on the edge of her bed and pulled her phone from the bedside table. She quickly punched her thumb into the buttons, dialing a familiar number. On the third ring, a mono-toned voice picked up. "Yamanaka residence," Sai said in a very businesslike manner.

"Hey, Sai. Ino there?"

"One moment."

After a half a second, Sakura's best friend answered breathlessly. "Ino speaking!"

"I need help," Sakura said, dropping her head into her hand as she leaned forward. A quick sting to the back of her calf let her know that in her haste, she hadn't been as careful as she should have. She swiped a finger over the drop of blood and quickly healed the wound.

Ino scoffed on the other end of the call. "Well, I could've told you that." What sounded like a blender whirred to life, cutting the blonde's voice off. When it finally stopped, she piped back up. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

It was eerie how accurate she was with her accusations sometimes. Though Sakura doubted that Ino would ever guess what she was about to tell her. Swallowing, she stood to her feet and paced the length of her bed. "Am I on speakerphone?" She asked quickly. Not that Sai would really care or tell anyone else, but she couldn't risk someone knowing she was _this_ pathetic.

Sakura could hear her friend pick up the phone and tap something on the screen before speaking again. "Not anymore. What's up?"

It would probably be best to start at the beginning, the night Kakashi had popped up in her life so abruptly that her head was still spinning, but she really didn't want to explain everything. Instead, she told Ino about Sasuke's letter, not giving the blonde any time to mouth off about his chronic absence in Sakura's life. She quickly reminded Ino of who Kakashi was and rambled on. "…and now, he's asked me to dinner as friends, and I don't know if I'm doing something wrong by going. I mean, I'm still in a relationship. Should I really be agreeing to dinner with guys that I barely know and who might want me to be _more_ than just friends?"

"Yes," Ino said, not missing a beat. "You should be going to dinner with guys, as more than friends. It's incredibly selfish of Sasuke to expect you to wait for him three-hundred-sixty days of the year just to spend four or five at home. It's not fair to you, Sakura and I've made myself more than clear on how I feel about this."

It was true. Sakura had heard this all before, though never in this context. For the first couple of years, Ino was their biggest cheerleader, helping Sakura get through the loneliness and making sure they had plenty of time together when Sasuke did make his way back home. But, the novelty of a long-distance relationship had worn off fast for her and slowly, she had been trying to convince Sakura that it was time to move on. Maybe she was right. But, not discussing it with Sasuke before she jumped into bed with other guys wasn't fair either. It would be a slap in the face to their entire relationship and she refused to be that kind of woman.

With a sigh, Sakura pulled the towel off the top of her head and dropped it into the hamper by her dresser. "I know, but he still thinks we're in a relationship. If I move on without talking to him first, I would feel horrible."

"So, send him a message. 'Sasuke, I can't wait for you anymore. I deserve a healthy, real relationship that apparently you can't give me'. See? It's easy." The blender came back to life and while she waited for Ino to finish, Sakura rifled through the top drawer of her dresser for a pair of panties. The first few pairs she came to were her age-appropriate, white cotton panties that came in a plastic pack of seven or eight. It had been a long time since she had bought and actually wore panties that could be seen as sexy or cute. When had she even made this transition?

Frowning, she pushed past the top layer of underwear and dug into the back of the drawer, hoping to find something that her mother wouldn't wear. Then again, why should she be wanting to wear sexy panties anyway? There was no way Kakashi would even be seeing them. This wasn't a date, and he most definitely wasn't coming home with her.

Her hand brushed past a strip of lace and she hooked her middle finger around the elastic band, pulling the garment from the depths of her underwear drawer. These panties were not cotton, probably didn't have a stitch of it in the entire thing and had only a thin strip of fabric on the back. She had bought the thong probably three years ago and set it aside for when Sasuke made a visit. Judging by the price tag still hooked around the waist, it had been shoved into her drawer and never saw the light of day again. It would be a shame _not_ to wear it at least once.

As soon as the blender shut off again, Sakura sighed and dropped the towel from around her waist. She cradled her phone between her shoulder and ear, stepping into the thong. "It's never that easy."

"Do you still love him?"

Damn, she hadn't been expecting that question. It threw her off guard and her toes caught on the edge of the thong, nearly ripping through the fabric. Sakura stumbled and caught herself with an arm across her dresser, blinking in surprise. "What kind of question is that?"

"The kind you're avoiding. No one thinks you're a bad person if you don't, you know? Honestly, we're kind of waiting for you to realize it so you can start moving on," Ino replied simply, as if she were discussing how easy it was to pick a favorite flavor of ice cream. But, no matter how much Sakura tried to force herself to retort, she couldn't.

She was stunned, really. It had never occurred to her to even ask herself that question. She had been doing the same thing for so long that she never even gave it a second thought. It wasn't exactly like she gave it much thought on a daily basis. Their relationship only existed when Sasuke was home and every other day of Sakura's life was just…lonely. God, she really was pathetic. Their _relationship_ was pathetic.

"I think I'll always love him. But I don't think I'm _in_ love with him."

"Then go out to dinner with this guy, have fun, and when Sasuke does manage to make his way back home, sit him down and talk to him. But don't wait until after that to live your life. You've done enough waiting." She hated it when Ino made sense. But this was the exact reason why she called her in times of emotional crisis.

That didn't mean she was going to sleep with Kakashi, but she definitely felt better about having dinner with him. Even if he was only nineteen. Of course, that thought made a whole new wave of apprehension roll through her and she bit her lip. "Kakashi's kind of young, though, don't you think?"

"Men reach their sexual peak at eighteen and women reach theirs in their thirties. I'm sure the two of you will find something you can bond over." The smile was evident in her voice.

"You're a pig," she said with a roll of her eyes, not wanting to think about Kakashi at his sexual peak. Actually, that's all she wanted to think about, but she wasn't going to let her thoughts drift to that anymore. Not when it was all she fantasized about the night before.

"Go get laid, Forehead."

"I am not going to get—" The call ended before she could finish her sentence and she stared down at her phone with a scowl. As good at giving advice as Ino was, she was also too good at putting ideas into Sakura's head. The last thing she needed to be thinking about was getting laid tonight. Sure, it was all she had been thinking about for the past…well, eleven months since the last time she had gotten laid, but that didn't mean she was going to _do_ anything about it.

She couldn't.

She wouldn't.

Sakura looked at her reflection, naked except for the black thong sitting around her hips and she sighed. If she didn't want to do anything about it, why was she putting so much thought into something no one except her would see?

* * *

At precisely 7:14, Sakura let out a string of curses as she hurriedly brushed on a thin layer of lip gloss and popped her lips in the mirror. She was running a bit late after changing her outfit half a dozen times and finally deciding to wear what she had initially picked out; a calf-length black skirt that hugged her hips and thighs, a red top and black, crop jacket. Despite knowing it was exactly the outfit Ino would have picked out for her, she was still doubtful about it.

For one, it was far too sexy to wear out to a dinner that was definitely not a date. It anyone saw her and Kakashi together, they would most certainly assume that was exactly what they were doing. And secondly, Sakura was almost certain Kakashi would definitely like it. In the end, that was precisely why she kept going back to it and she had given up trying to ignore the outfit.

" _Shit_ ," she muttered beneath her breath, shoving her keys and wallet into the small purse looped around her wrist with a strip of black leather. No matter what Kakashi would say, she wouldn't let him pay. That would mean their dinner _was_ a date, and she couldn't even think about that right now.

Her heart raced as she hurried to the front door and fanned her armpits with her purse, hoping she had used enough deodorant to get through the night. Why did he have to make her so nervous? Taking a deep breath, Sakura blew it out and looked to the ceiling above her front door to calm herself down. "Relax. You can do this. It's just dinner."

 _Dinner with a guy who makes you sweat, wet, and far too horny for your own good._

Sakura scowled at herself, ignoring her inner thoughts before stepping out into the autumn night. The air was cool enough to make her feel like she wasn't about to sweat through her clothes and she breathed a sigh of relief. A little bit of fresh air was already doing her a world of good.

They had agreed to meet at a place Sakura had never heard of, but that wasn't too surprising. If it didn't deliver right to her house, she probably wouldn't know about it otherwise. What she was hoping for was somewhere quiet, small, and not too crowded. And what she walked up to, was the exact opposite of that.

Standing across the street from the address, Sakura stared up at the bright neon sign in the front window spelling 'BARCADE' with a twist of knots filling her stomach. Behind the sign, the front was filled with bright, flashing lights and a string of stuffed animal prizes that could be won from playing the carnival type games. Every single person inside, and the few outside smoking their cigarettes and sharing laughs, looked about ten years younger than her. Instantly, her thoughts turned self-conscious and she hugged her arms around her waist.

 _Was it too late to go back home?_ She wondered, chewing her lower lip with worry. There were so many people. What would they think if they saw her with someone so young? Would they think she was the type of weirdo who desperately clings to their youth by prowling for younger men? Or was she just being paranoid?

Before she could answer the questions swirling through her head, she felt someone's presence behind her and whipped her head to the side. Kakashi stepped around her, his hands in his pockets and eyes smiling as he looked across the street. "Judging by the look on your face, I'd say you're not very impressed."

Warmth touched Sakura's cheeks and she ducked her head with a smile. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to," Kakashi glanced down at her and winked. A hundred butterflies fluttered rapidly against the inside of her stomach and she pressed a hand to her midsection to settle them. He gave a nod toward the arcade and pulled his hand from his pocket, holding it out for her as he took a step forward. "It'll be fun. I promise."

Sakura looked from his outstretched fingers, ignoring how badly hers twitched to touch him, before lifting her gaze to his face. She didn't know what to do. Taking his hand would be far too intimate for a non-date. She couldn't even remember the last time she had held hands with _anyone_. It wasn't exactly like she had many opportunities. And now that she was faced with one, she was too afraid to let herself give in.

Fortunately, her body was far too fed up with her lack of human contact and she was already reaching for him by the time her brain caught up. As her fingers slid against his, her brain may as well have melted. It would be useless for the remainder of the evening. A little bit of intimacy and her hormones instantly took control of her body, silencing any pesky protests from her inner thoughts.

Kakashi guided her toward the building, holding the door open so she could pass inside. To Sakura's surprise, he didn't let her hand go once they got in. He stopped beside a token booth right between the side of the room where they games were located and the other side where a long bar ran down the length of the building. "We could get a drink first, or we could play some games. You choose."

Alcohol was exactly what she needed right now, and Sakura nodded to bar. The lighting was dim over the line of stools and it was far less crowded than the gaming area. She took a seat on one of the stools, gently pulling her hand free from Kakashi's and hoping he couldn't feel how clammy her palms were. If he noticed, he didn't say anything as he sat beside her and gestured to the bartender.

"What'll it be?" The guy said, making Sakura blink in surprise. He looked barely old enough to drink himself and she hesitated, thrown off guard by his very young appearance. His eyebrows lifted as he waited for her answer.

"Two beers, please," Kakashi answered for her with a smile tugging at the edge of his mask. He turned to face her as soon as the bartender passed them two bottles and moved to the opposite end of the bar to another couple. "You don't have to look so nervous, you know?"

"I'm not nervous." She sniffed and put the bottle to her lips, hoping he couldn't see how bad of a liar she was. To be honest, she wasn't as nervous as she had thought she would be. She did, however, still feel like she stuck out like a sore thumb among the younger crowd. Taking a sip of her beer, she grimaced and set the bottle back down in front of her. "Wow, it's been a while since I've had beer."

"You don't drink?"

"I do," she admitted with a small laugh. "Just not beer. I prefer wine."

"Noted," Kakashi said, sipping his beer through his mask. He laughed as she stared up at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Don't you ever get tired of the whole," she paused to draw a circle around her face with her finger. "Hiding your face bit? I mean, I get _why_."

"I only get tired of it _sometimes_." His eyebrow twitched, drawing Sakura's eyes up to where a strand of hair fell across his forehead. What she wouldn't give to reach up and brush it aside in that moment…Blinking, she pulled her thoughts away from all the ways she could touch him and raised her own eyebrow in question to his response. He elaborated with another smile that made her wish she could see it. "It gets in the way when I need to use my mouth for certain things."

Heat spread across her body at his answer and she crossed her legs at the knee, pressing her thighs together. The last thing she needed to think about was him using that mouth of his on her, especially now that he was sitting so close and looking at her the way he was.

Maybe alcohol wasn't the best option. It gave them too much time to talk and flirt in the dim lights around the bar. What she needed was to be in the crowd, with little temptation to touch him or kiss him. Sakura sat up straight and turned away from him, focusing on the condensation dripping down the side of her beer bottle. She brought it back to her lips and gulped more of it down.

"Let's go play," She said, hoping that the games would be a good distraction for her hormones.

Kakashi stood beside her and she looked up at his height, gulping back that previous thought. Even with the loud noises and bright, flashing lights, she didn't think she'd be able to look at anything _but_ him all night. He put a hand to the small of her back, his fingers brushing against the small, strip of skin between her skirt and top. Sakura's knees went weak and she had to concentrate on just making her way to the game area without falling to the floor.

Most of the crowd was gathered around the six Skeeball games, and a few of the couples had found the games to win the most tickets leaving a lot of the area open. They passed by a girl squealing in delight as her boyfriend picked out a large, stuffed pig from the wall of prizes. Sakura wanted to laugh at the two of them but couldn't. They were so young and obviously in love. She couldn't laugh at them because she was envious. It sat heavy and disgusting in her stomach, making her regret drinking the rest of that beer.

Thankfully, Kakashi pulled her attention away from the couple as he stopped in front of a large, round machine with a ring of light bulbs beneath the clear dome. Lights spun around the edge, passing beneath four arrows positioned around the game. Sakura raised an eyebrow as she looked down into the dome where in the center, it displayed how many tickets you could possibly win by stopping the light beneath the arrow. She scoffed and looked back up at Kakashi.

"Aren't these games rigged?"

"Oh, most definitely." He grinned behind his mask, pulling a token out of his pocket. Sakura frowned at the gold coin in his fingers. When had he even gotten the tokens? She had been with him from the moment they walked in and hadn't seen him exchange any money for them. She found it hard to tear her eyes away from his fingers, but eventually did as he spoke. "But someone has to win eventually."

The game came to life as soon as the coin dropped into the slot and the lights spun around the edge of the dome at lightning speeds. It took one complete circle before Kakashi's fingers pressed the button, stopping the light exactly where the jackpot was located. Sakura's jaw fell open in surprise and took a step back, staring down at the tickets now piling up at their feet. With a scowl, she folded her arms over her chest and looked up at him. "You cheated."

Kakashi laughed as he reached down to pick up the small mound of tickets. "Maybe I'm just that good. Ever think about that?"

"Right," Sakura rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "Do it again, and I'll agree that you're good."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, looking down at the coin spinning between his long, pale fingers. "And what do I get if I do?"

In that moment, Sakura would have given him anything he wanted. She bit the inside of her lip and folded her arms over her chest. The beat of her heart thumped against her forearm, its rhythm a clear sign that she was thoroughly enjoying this at the moment. "You mean the satisfaction of knowing you impressed me isn't enough?"

"Nope," he said with a shake of his head, reaching to push the coin into the slot. The machine came back to life in a swirl of lights and music, but Kakashi's eyes were focused solely on her. "I want something else."

 _Fuck_. She had been hoping the games would put a stop to their flirting, or at least slow it down, but it was proving to do the exact opposite. How could someone be so good at flirting? It just wasn't fair.

Sakura leaned a hip against the plastic dome and shook the hair from her eyes before tilting her head back to look up at him. "What do you want?" Oh, that was quite the dangerous question and she almost regretted asking it. _Almost_.

The look in his eyes as he glanced down to her lips made things that she hadn't felt in a long time flare back to life. Her legs trembled, pulse raced, and she couldn't resist letting her tongue dart out to lick the gloss of her lips. Kakashi noticed and his eyebrow arched in that deliciously wicked way that Sakura could feel in parts of her body that were dying to be touched. He met her gaze once more, the lights of the game still circling beneath the jackpot arrows, waiting for him to press the button.

"I probably shouldn't say what I want," Kakashi said quietly, igniting the fire inside her. "Seeing as how this isn't a date."

Sakura nodded, knowing it was definitely for the best that he not tell her. But damn, did she want to know. And since her brain was still a jumbled mush, she couldn't stop herself from saying exactly what she shouldn't have said. Which was, "That doesn't mean I don't want to know what it is."

He laughed, the sound sinking through Sakura and warming her from the inside out. Oh, she was going to regret this. That, she was certain of. Kakashi looked back into the dome of lights and nodded. "If I win one more time, I want to kiss you."

Absolutely not.

It was completely out of the question.

She didn't even kiss on the first dates. And this definitely wasn't a date.

The answer was no.

Which was what she should have said. Instead, she looked up at him and nodded. "Okay. If you win, you can kiss me."

His eyebrow arched slightly before he turned back to the game and watched the lights circle around and around. Sakura couldn't look. She was too focused on his eyes, half-lidded and full of concentration as well as something darker that she could feel in her bones. They narrowed slightly before his fingers tapped the button. Behind her, the machine made a sad little noise and she spun to stare down at the arrow. The bulb right next to it was lit up and flashing. Four tickets were spat out and Sakura scoffed, shaking her head.

"So close, yet so far, Hatake."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I'm not as good as I thought." He snatched the meager amount of tickets he won and added it to the stack in his other hand. Sakura pushed away from the machine and opened her mouth to ask which one he wanted to try next, but never got a chance. She blinked in surprise as he put a palm against the dome and leaned toward her. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her anyway. When his mask brushed against her earlobe, she let her eyes close and held her breath. "Or, maybe, I just want to make you wait for it."

He pulled back and looked down at her, and somehow, she just _knew_ he was smirking beneath that mask. Maybe he knew how absolutely drenched her panties were in that moment and that it was entirely his fault. She swallowed and brushed her hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling much warmer.

His hand slipped around hers and he pulled her toward another game. She tried to focus on how to play but was having a bit of trouble thinking of much else besides how badly she had wanted to kiss him, how badly she was _still_ wanting to kiss him.

They played through a few more. One, she found, she was quite good at. The object was to throw as many balls through a metal hoop before the timer ran out. She had only missed two through the first few times they played. Kakashi accused her of cheating and she laughed it off, tossing another ball through the hoop. "You're just intimidated by a successful woman." Two more went through and her score was almost doubled what Kakashi's was.

"Oh, believe me," He said, missing the hoop by only a few inches. "I'm definitely not intimidated by successful women."

The buzzer went off and the game declared player 1 the winner. Sakura threw her hands in the air and grinned triumphantly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You're looking a little intimidated to me." She snatched her tickets from the machine and added them to the pile they had been collecting. "What next?"

"Well, we haven't tried the Skeeball, but my favorite one is back here," he said, nodding toward the back of the room. The cabinets in the back were mostly shooting games and what looked like a neglected billiards table. Sakura hadn't played in years, but she could probably still put up a good fight if he thought he could easily win.

Smiling, she reached for his hand and nodded. "Lead the way."

There was an undeniable bounce in her step as he led her through the maze of gaming cabinets. A few younger boys were playing a game with fake, plastic horses to race through a pixelated landscape. Sakura watched their screen as she was pulled past them and shook her head. As uneasy as she had been about actually coming into the arcade, she couldn't deny that she was having a great time. Of course, most of it was because of _who_ she was with.

But her smile vanished as Kakashi stopped in front of a large machine that was a bit hidden from the rest of the room. The outside depicted scenes of blood thirsty, zombie ninjas with two main characters fighting them off with double wielded swords. A short, black curtain was drawn around the booth, making the inside quite private. Kakashi ducked inside and held the fabric back with one hand, lifting his eyebrows as he waited for her to join him.

Sakura took a step and hesitated. If she was having trouble keeping her flirting to a minimum when they were surrounded by people, what would she want to do in _there_? Yeah, it wasn't exactly like a private room, but they would be away from prying eyes. Her brain came back to life just in time to remind her how wrong this was.

She swallowed with a frown, looking toward the rest of the arcade. No one was looking their way. It was as if they were completely invisible. No one would see them, no one would know they were even here together. She felt her body relax as she turned back to the game. Biting the inside of her lip, she ducked inside the machine and took a seat on the little bench next to Kakashi. Her breath froze in her lungs as he let go of the curtain and they were plunged into darkness.

The screen in front of them flared to life as a voice from the crackling speakers announced that a horde of zombies were heading right for them. Lights flashed, zombies shrieked, and all Sakura could think about was the press of Kakashi's leg against the length of her own. "Do you know how to play?" He asked, pulling her attention up to his face.

It was an immediate mistake. The darkness of the booth only made him look more irresistible and the flashes of light from the game caught the features of his face. Sakura shook her head and he leaned forward to put two coins into the machine. A ten second countdown appeared, giving them time to pick their characters and Sakura picked the only girl option.

"This is your attack button," Kakashi said, pointing to a red, circular button on the flat panel in front of the screen. "These two move you back and forth and if we coordinate our attacks, we get more points."

She caught sight of his wink before the announcer spoke through the speakers. "Get ready!" Another countdown, this one only 3 seconds, appeared on the screen before their characters were thrust into the action.

Sakura tapped on the buttons as rapidly as she could, squealing as she sliced through zombie after zombie. Drops of pixelated blood hit the screen. "Does it have to be so graphic?"

"I'm sure you've seen worse."

After thirty seconds of mindless violence, the announcer declared they were at a checkpoint and gave them a chance to upgrade their weapons. Kakashi slid a bit closer to Sakura's side of the bench and glanced at her. "Let me show you a trick," he said softly, reaching toward her side of the button panel. "If you press these two at the same time, you can do a chain attack."

Sakura scooted herself forward and looked down at he buttons beneath his long, pale fingers. Even though she had been holding his hand off and on all night, the urge to reach out and lace their fingers together was almost unbearable. She tried to focus on what he was saying to her, but it went in one ear and out the other.

After a few seconds, the announcer told them to get ready for the second round and Kakashi reached for Sakura's lap. He took her hand in his and brought the tips of her fingers to the button panel. She swallowed and looked up at him, the sound of mindless, hungry zombies howling from the speakers completely melting away.

She could feel the tension between them spiking, filling the small space until she could barely breathe. Their characters were getting slaughtered on screen, but neither of them seemed to care. All they could see was each other and all Sakura wanted was to feel his lips on hers.

Kakashi moved his fingers up her arm, lightly grazing over her shoulder until he found her face. His palm was warm against her jaw and she leaned into his touch with her eyes closed. For the first time since she met him, her brain was completely silent, and she was grateful. The last thing she needed was to hear pesky warnings.

His thumb dipped beneath her chin and tilted her face toward his. She could feel the warmth of his breath across her lips and Sakura couldn't help whimper, powerless to do much else. "You should probably stop me," he whispered, making her eyes blink open. To her right, the game announced that their characters were dead and she swallowed. There were no protests from her brain, no reminders of how wrong this would be.

"I don't want you to stop."

Kakashi nodded, his eyelids heavy as he focused on her lips. Between them, there was only enough space for him to reach up and pull the mask down around his chin. The light from the screen illuminated his face and Sakura didn't know if she'd rather stare at him or kiss him in that moment. He gave her no choice and closed the distance between them.

Her fingers found the sleeves of his shirt and tightened around the fabric to keep herself from slipping off the edge of the bench. For a few seconds, he kept their kiss gentle. Their lips barely touching, brushing over one another in soft, slow kisses that drove Sakura crazy. She wondered if he was being gentle for her sake, but she could almost feel the smirk on his lips and realized he was doing it to _tease_ her. He knew she wanted this, despite all of her protests to the contrary.

For just a brief second, Sakura thought about turning away and proving him wrong. Her pride, however, was quiet and didn't care enough about being stubborn. So, she did the opposite. Sakura reached up and curled her fingers around the back of his neck, pulling him harder against her mouth. Whether he was surprised or not, he didn't show it.

He matched her urgency, tilting her head to the side for a better angle against her lips. This time, he took her breath away. She had never been kissed like this, like there was nothing in the world but him and her. All of her worry melted away, leaving nothing but the desire she had been feeling since the first day they had met.

Kakashi parted her lips with his own as he gently pushed her back along the bench until her back hit the wall. He took control so easily that it startled her. She had no time to react before his tongue slowly caressed hers, making her fingers tighten around the hair at the back of his head. A whimper escaped her throat and Kakashi matched it with a moan of his own.

He looped a hand around her back, pulling her chest against his. Sakura was beginning to regret wearing such a tight, lengthy skirt. She wanted the freedom to crawl into his lap or have him between her legs in some way. There were too many clothes between them and she found herself trying to figure out how to get him back to her house before she changed her mind about all of this.

Kakashi slipped his hand up the back of her shirt, his fingers cool against her heated flesh. He met the clasp of her bra but didn't push his luck by snapping it open. In that moment, Sakura wasn't sure she'd even care. It was hard to care about anything when he was still kissing her in a way that made her toes curl and legs want to open.

As he shifted on the bench, he put a hand to the panel of buttons on the game to steady himself. Their lips parted for just a brief moment and Sakura took the time to breathe, letting her head fall back against the cabinet. The feel of his mouth against her throat made her arch into him with a gasp. " _Kakashi_ ," she murmured, taking her bottom lip between her teeth as he found a spot just below her earlobe that made her body ripple with shivers.

A tiny spark nipped at her neck, racing between Kakashi's body and her own. It shot to his hand, still against the button panel and the screen went black with a puff of smoke. She blinked in surprise as he pulled away from her and stared at the game. "Oh, shit." He laughed, turning to look at her once more. "I think I broke it."

" _Kakashi_ ," Sakura hissed, sitting up to straighten the jacket around her shoulders. He leaned back only enough to give her room to sit up before dipping his head back down to her neck. She tried not to enjoy the feel of him kissing along the underside of her jaw, but it was proving difficult. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she let her head fall to the side. "What even happened?"

"I didn't expect you to say my name like that," he whispered against her earlobe. Another wave of shivers raced along her body and she bit her lip to keep from moaning. "I kind of lost control."

"We should probably leave before someone notices."

"Uh-huh." He kissed along the length of her jaw, back over her chin and his lips found hers once again. For just a few seconds, Sakura let herself enjoy his kiss despite the malfunctioning machine beside them. With a sigh, she put a hand to Kakashi's chest and pushed him away.

He made a noise of disappointment in the back of his throat but slipped the mask back over his face. Sakura managed to catch a glimpse of the smirk she had been imagining for the past few days before his lips were once against covered. It should be illegal to cover a face that handsome.

Kakashi winked before pulling the curtain open, letting Sakura slip out first. She checked her surroundings first, and once she saw no angry game owners waiting for them, she breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out. The fabric of her shirt was twisted around her waist and she quickly fixed it, smoothing the wrinkles from her skirt. No one seemed to even notice her dishevelment, but her cheeks flared with heat anyway.

Once Kakashi ducked out and stood to his full height, he reached for Sakura's hand again. This time, there was no hesitation. She laced her fingers through his and let him lead her toward the front of the building. Just before they could escape through the door, he stopped and Sakura whirled around to face him, her eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

Kakashi simply held up the stack of tickets they had won through the night. "We have to get our prizes," he said with a smile that Sakura was wishing she could see.

Fifteen minutes later, they were hurrying out onto the streets of Konoha with a teddy bear key chain and an assortment of candy that Sakura was delighted was all hers. "You don't like candy?" She asked before popping a strawberry sucker into her mouth.

"Not particularly. I prefer _other_ kinds of sweets." He winked down at her.

Sakura rolled her eyes and knocked her shoulder into his. "Has anyone ever told you, you're kind of a pervert?"

"Nope. Never."

At the corner, where her street broke off from the main road, Sakura sighed and came to a stop. It was the opposite of what she wanted, but knew it was for the best if he didn't walk her home. The temptation would be too strong to resist and for some unfortunate reason, she was listening to her brain again. "I should probably say good night here."

Kakashi glanced over her head to the row of houses and nodded. "I suppose giving you a kiss goodbye would be out of the question."

Sakura's entire body begged her not to listen to that insufferable voice in her head. What was the worst that could happen from just a quick kiss? She sighed and ducked her head, playing with the keychain he had won her as her thoughts argued back and forth. One kiss wouldn't hurt, but there'd be no way she could stop it at just one kiss.

And besides, this wasn't a date! There wasn't supposed to be kissing at all!

Despite what she was so desperately wanting to do, Sakura took a step forward, raised up on her tiptoes and gave Kakashi a quick kiss on the cheek. Her top lip grazed the cool skin of his face while the bottom brushed along his mask. He was smiling as she pulled away and she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Goodnight, Kakashi."

"Goodnight." He held onto her hand until she took a few steps back, his eyes dark despite the street lamp above them. In the few seconds it took for their fingers to separate, Sakura battled with herself over the desire to invite him back to her house. He knew she wanted it and she knew he did as well.

But, for the first time all night, she thought about Sasuke and how hurt he would be if he ever found out she had cheated on him. She couldn't do it. Her hand fell to her side and she turned away from Kakashi, inhaling a deep, shaking breath of the cool air. It did little to ease the burn of desire still coursing through her.

And though all she wanted to do was look back at him, she kept her face forward, not letting herself stop until she was at her door. Once inside, she let her back fall against the doorframe and sighed, bringing her fingers to trace the edge of her lips and down to the spot on her neck he had kissed. It was impossible, but she thought, just for a moment, she could feel the little spark against her flesh.

* * *

AN- well, this chapter turned out much longer than I intended it to. But, we're about to get into some explicit territory :)


	8. Deals With The Devil

AN- I honestly had no intentions on posting this tonight. I was only halfway finished with the chapter earlier today but I was struck with glorious inspiration and...well, this happened in a couple of hours. I should probably proofread it...but, why would I do something like that? I hope this isn't rushed and I hope it's...what I planned. I've only read through it once because I'm stupid like that. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

* * *

By the next afternoon, Sakura was still on cloud nine and felt as if she were floating through the hallways of the hospital. She was thankful for the relative slow day that gave her ample time to day dream about her previous night. Every time she thought about how it felt to kiss Kakashi, her toes would curl in her shoes and a curious tingle would spread all over her body.

It had been so long since she felt something like this. She was beginning to think she would never feel it again. Of course, realizing _why_ she hadn't experienced this in so long only made thoughts of Sasuke pop into her head and the guilt would start to work its way through her happy fantasies. She brushed them aside, telling herself that there really was nothing to feel guilty for.

So, they had kissed.

It wasn't that big of a deal. She had been strong enough to end their night before anything could happen between them. Though, she had definitely regretted sending him away when she had been laying in bed until nearly midnight, cursing herself for not letting him at least walk her home. But it was for the best. If he had walked her home and kissed her goodnight the way he had in the arcade, she wouldn't have been able to tell him no.

And, as long as they kept things to the degree that they were at now, she wouldn't mind seeing him again. That is, if he wanted to.

This put a whole new worry into her head, and she bit her lip as her fingers paused over the keyboard to her computer. Was it strange that she hadn't heard from him today? It had been so long since she had dated—not that this was what they were doing—that she didn't know the proper protocol anymore. How long should she wait for his call after a nondate?

Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. She was being ridiculous and wanted to laugh at herself. One night with a few kisses, and suddenly she was pining over a guy who was far too young for her, losing her mind because he hadn't called yet. What she needed was to focus on work and stop thinking about how much she wanted to kiss—

A loud shrill ring broke through her thoughts and her hand flew to the phone on the other side of her desk. She quickly pressed it to her ear with a breathless, "Hello?"

"Good morning, sunshine!" A familiar voice rang out making Sakura sigh. It wasn't who she had been hoping for, but maybe a call from her best friend would cheer her up.

"You are aware that it's two in the afternoon, aren't you?"

Ino laughed. "Well, I figured you'd be sleeping in after last night. Don't tell me you chickened out."

With a scowl, Sakura cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear and turned back to the computer screen. "I didn't chicken out—"

The squeal from the other end of the line made Sakura jerk back, the spiral cord snapping the phone out of her hands and back toward the desk to dangle halfway to the floor. She snatched the phone and pressed it back to her ear just in time to hear the shrieking stop and Ino speak again. "So, you did sleep with him? Give me every detail! Was it good? Was he _big_?"

If it had been dark in the small office, Sakura's blush could have lit up the entire room. She leaned forward and pressed a hand to her forehead. " _Ino!_ I didn't sleep with him!"

"But you said—"

"I told you on the phone last night that I wasn't looking to get laid. We went out and had a good time. That's all."

After only a quick moment of quiet, enough for Sakura to sit back up in her chair, Ino clucked her tongue in mild disapproval. "Well, how good of a time did you have?" She sighed. "I still want details, even if they're not going to be as juicy as I'd been hoping for."

"It was nice." Sakura shrugged, though no one was there to see her and turned back to her computer screen. She knew that her vague comment wouldn't satisfy her best friend. And sure enough, without missing a beat, Ino picked up on the strange tone of Sakura's voice.

"There's something you're not telling me. Dish it, Forehead!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Really? You're still calling me that after twenty years?"

"Only when you keep things from me," Ino sing-songed and from her end of the line, Sakura could hear what sounded like the busy streets of the market. Laughter, voices, and dogs barking were very faint but definitely recognizable.

"You better not have me on speakerphone, _Pig_."

"Quit stalling or I'll just assume you _did_ fuck the hot, young ninja."

"Ugh, fine!" Seeing as how there was no way she could get anything done while having Ino on the phone, Sakura mashed her thumb onto the monitor's power button. She pushed away from the desk as the screen went black and crossed her arms over her chest. If anyone was listening to this conversation, she would be mortified. Hopefully for her sake, Ino wouldn't have something like this on speakerphone. "We went to the arcade and…held hands and he kissed me."

"Oh, my Gods. You actually did something? I'm impressed."

"Yeah, well…It was almost impossible for me to resist. I did manage to though. I knew if he walked me home, I'd never let him leave." Even talking about it, her skin was growing warmer. She reached to the small fan in the window of her office and clicked it on. "Gods, Ino…he can kiss."

"Mm, I can imagine. Just don't tell me you're feeling guilty or anything." A bell chimed from Ino's end of the call and Sakura recognized the soft, jazzy music that usually played in the grocery store. Which reminded her of the growing list of food items she had been forgetting over the last few weeks. "You deserve a little fun, you know?"

"I know. And I had a little fun. I'm just not sure—"

Ino groaned, the sound cutting through Sakura's words. "I knew this would happen. That damn little voice in the back of your head convincing you not to enjoy yourself, telling you to _think of Sasuke_." Her tone was mocking. "Screw thinking of him. Did he think of you when he wrote that letter to Naruto?"

Sakura scowled at her reflection in the computer screen. "No, but—"

"Exactly! He expects _you_ to do all the thinking while he does all the doing. Sakura," Ino paused while she addressed someone that Sakura could only assume was the butcher behind the counter at the grocery store. " _Two pounds of pork, please._ You really have to stop doing this. It isn't healthy."

"I know, but—"

"Look, you can't string this guy along if you're still hung up on Sasuke. You need to be honest with him before you both get hurt."

Sakura frowned and crossed her legs at the knee. "Weren't you the one telling me to sleep with him last night?"

"Yeah, I just thought you wanted a quick fuck. _Thank you, so much!_ " Ino called to the butcher before returning to their conversation. "But, it's kind of obvious you like this guy more than that."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because I know you better than anyone. The way you just said he can kiss? It's the exact tone you used to talk about Sasuke in. You may not be in love, but you're clearly smitten and you're convincing yourself otherwise to save yourself from being hurt again."

This time, Sakura scoffed in surprise at her reflection. She could see the look of doubt clearly on her face, could see the shake of her head in disagreement but there was something else…something in her eyes that knew that what Ino was saying had truth to it. She could deny it all she wanted, but there was something between she and Kakashi. It was electric and over-whelming and it did frighten her.

But, did that mean she was trying to talk herself out of it?

Sakura dropped her forehead into her hand and sighed. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing," Ino replied simply and though Sakura couldn't be sure, she could just picture the quick shrug of her shoulders as she said it. "You're acting perfectly normal for a woman who has been strung along for ten years with the promise of a normal relationship right around the corner. He's the one that's fucked up."

"Okay, but what do I do about Kakashi?"

"That's up to you. If he doesn't want to wait for you to end things with Sasuke, then that's on him. I just want you to be happy again."

"How did you get so wise about all this anyway? Haven't you only ever been with Sai?" Sakura asked with a small smile pulling at her lips as she sat back in her chair.

"Yeah, and he's hard enough to decipher. You can thank him for my unparalleled words of wisdom." They shared a laugh and Sakura made an excuse to end the call. As much as she valued Ino's input, it left her feeling somewhat confused about this situation that she's managed to get herself into.

Sighing, Sakura set the phone back down on the receiver and leaned back in her chair, lifting her face to the ceiling. She asked herself the same question she had asked Ino: _What was wrong with her?_ Was she seriously trying to talk herself out of a bit of happiness just because she was scared of how Sasuke would take it all? When had she let him dictate _so_ much of her life? In the past few years, she had turned into the kind of woman she used to pity. The ones so caught up on their significant other that they lost sight of who they were.

And sure, she had remained at her job, pursuing her career…Her relationship with Sasuke hadn't eclipsed _that_ aspect of her life yet. But he had definitely eclipsed so much of what she had wanted for herself at this age.

Sakura looked back down at her desk and pursed her lips, drumming her fingers over the armrest of her chair. A surge of determination rose through her all of a sudden. It swirled in tandem with the frustration she had been keeping hidden. Frustration from Sasuke, from his absence, and that goddamn letter he had sent Naruto. Well, he wasn't the only one who could send letters.

It may never reach him, wherever the hell he was, but she had to write it. Not so she could fool around with a younger man, but for herself.

She snatched a piece of paper from her desk while reaching for a pen from the mug across from her. She popped the cap off the pen and scribbled a note as short and sweet as the one Sasuke had felt to write. The pen pressed hard against the paper, scraping nearly clean through it as she furiously wrote a single line of text.

' _S,_

 _If you want to talk about our relationship, you know where to find me. Until then, I'm moving on._

 _S'_

By the time she finished, put the cap on her pen and threw it back in the mug with other various writing utensils, her fingers were shaking. It wasn't as fiery as she wanted it to be, but she opted against using the curse words she had felt like saying to him since the moment she read his words. This was better, though. She gave him the same amount of though he had given her.

No.

She had given him _more_.

Folding the paper up, she stuffed it into the pocket of her apron and decided that her paperwork could wait. She had to deliver the note to Naruto, who would surely have a lot to say about it. And the last thing she wanted was to spend the next few hours in the Hokage tower, explaining her decision to Naruto. As much as he wanted his two best friends to be happy together, that clearly wasn't going to happen.

And besides, speaking to Ino reminded Sakura of another thing she had been neglecting. After months of eating nothing but takeout, she was ready for something different. But, she definitely needed to restock her fridge with some groceries.

* * *

Kakashi rubbed at his elbow, wincing from the dull pain that radiated from the burns that he had been doctoring the last few weeks. He had been using the ointment exactly as Sakura had instructed but was still having trouble with it. Maybe he needed another healing session with his doctor.

The thought instantly put a smile to his face, and he pushed a hand through his hair. Of course, thinking about her also made him think to the kiss they had shared the night before. He could still feel the lightening sparking through his veins. Which probably didn't help the burns on his arm very much, but he couldn't exactly help it.

It was beyond his control now.

With the first kiss they shared, she was sinking under his skin more than he thought was possible. He had laid awake for hours last night after they parted ways on the street, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, unable to get her off his mind. And though their kiss had turned him on, he couldn't bring himself to jerk off. His hands had remained across his stomach, impatiently drumming along his muscles.

For some reason, he felt it would be useless. Sure, it would release some tension, but there's no way it would compare to what he _wanted_ to do. It would only tease him more and Sakura was already doing a good job with that.

He lifted his face to the evening sky above the village and took a deep breath of the cool air. His days off had only made him lazier and more aloof. Maybe that had to do with her, he didn't know. What he did know, was that he blew off an invitation to the bar to drink with his friends just so he could walk around the village and _daydream_.

Sure, he was no stranger to the occasional fantasy. The _Icha-Icha_ series saw to that. But, this time, he was more focused on reliving the previous night in his mind, going over every detail that he had been too enraptured by her to notice in the moment. The feel of her hair, the taste of her lip gloss and those little whimpers she made…it all stayed with him like ghosts and was driving him crazy.

Maybe that's what it was. Maybe he was going crazy from wanting her so badly. He knew it wasn't healthy to like someone _this_ much after only knowing them for two weeks, but that was where he was now. In the beginning she had been just a curiosity, something to occupy his time while he was injured and unable to take missions. But the more time he spent with her, and the more he thought about her, the more he felt like this…could be more.

He didn't like many girls, hardly any his age anyway. The last time he had even dated someone for more than a quick, one-night stand, had been last year and he had ended it after three weeks. He only strung the girl along after the first night because she had given good head. In the end, he wanted his solitude over a good blow job.

And now, he was pursuing a woman who was not only older than him, but involved with someone else, who he had shared a handful of kisses with? He had never put this kind of effort into getting close to anyone. But Sakura was different.

She was kind, passionate, and full of fire.

She was worth the chase.

She was…walking out of the grocery store twenty meters ahead of him. Kakashi's steps faltered as he stared at the back of her pink head as she stepped around an elderly couple who were grabbing a basket at the door. She said something to them, too low for Kakashi to hear but it made his heart race, nonetheless. He could tell by her sweet smile that she was greeting them politely. In her arms, she carried two overstuffed paper bags that would be heavy for any normal woman.

Kakashi's eyebrow slowly arched higher on his forehead as he watched her easily carry the bags as if they were as light as feathers. The only thing it seemed she was having difficulties with was maneuvering them through the crowd walking along the sidewalks.

 _Go help her, you idiot!_

At the sound of his inner voice shouting at him, he forced his feet to move and he hurried to catch up with her. "Sakura!" He called out, stepping onto the street to avoid a family of four making their way to the supermarket. As he jogged to reach her, she turned to blink up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. He smiled, though she couldn't see it.

"Kakashi," she said breathlessly. "I-I didn't expect to see you on this side of town."

"I was out for a walk. I actually live in the neighborhood." He turned to glance over his shoulder to where his apartment building could barely be seen at the opposite end of the street. As he turned back to face her, she was frowning and trying to position one of her bags so it wouldn't be knocked by the passing man too occupied by the newspaper in his face to watch where he was going. Kakashi reached out to her. "Need some help?"

She pulled away from him and lifted her gaze to his, her eyes narrowing in defiance. "I can carry my own grocery bags."

He dropped his hands to the side and chuckled at her stubbornness. Something like that would have immediately squashed any interest he had from anyone else. On her, it was adorable. "I'm sure you could carry fifty of those bags, and myself if you wanted. I'm not asking because I think you're weak. I'm asking because it's the gentlemanly thing to do."

"Oh," was all she said as she glanced down into the bag balanced on her left arm. She pursed her lips and shook her head with a sigh. "I'm sorry. It's kind of been a rough day. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

Kakashi accepted the bag she held out for him and tucked it beneath his arm, stepping back so she could lead the way. "It's no big deal. I can take it." They walked on in silence. It was, to Kakashi's surprise, a comfortable one and he took another deep breath through his nose. This time, along with the cool autumn air, he could smell the shampoo she used, and it made him bite his lower lip. If he didn't say something else soon, he was going to try to kiss her and that would be difficult holding so many groceries. "Want to talk about it?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him, clearly lost in her own thoughts to hear his question. Kakashi repeated himself with a soft laugh and she ducked her head sheepishly. "Oh, just work stuff. Actually, that's a lie."

He raised his eyebrows and took an extra step before he realized she had come to a stop beside a business that had closed for the night. The bright, painted signs on the front windows read 'SALE' and 'HALF OFF' and they momentarily distracted Kakashi as he turned to face Sakura. She sighed and shifted the bag in her arms, not because of its weight but more so because the stalk of celery sticking out the top was in her face.

"I just…I've been doing some thinking since last night," she paused, her eyes meeting his at the mention of _last night_ and the blush creeping along her cheeks made him smile. "And, I think it would be best if we laid out some ground rules between us."

"Okay," He said, giving a quick nod. While rules between them definitely sounded exactly like the _opposite_ of what he wants, Kakashi was curious, if not a little nervous.

Sakura opened her mouth but seemed momentarily distracted as her eyes fell to where his mouth was behind his mask. The tops of her cheeks turned pink once again and he wondered if she was thinking about kissing him. It was certainly what he was thinking about. "As you know," she said, taking a deep breath and averting her gaze to the sale signs on the window at their side. "I'm not exactly single. It's complicated and due to circumstances beyond my control, I'm not able to exactly end things with Sasuke. Which puts me in a predicament with _you_."

"Ah, what kind of predicament?" Kakashi asked, taking a small step closer to her. His sudden nearness clearly flustered her, and she swatted the stalk of celery as it shifted in her bag and fell against her cheek.

"I can't…I mean, I _won't_ , be the kind of women who sleep around while their significant others are off in some foreign land. Its just a personal issue with me and I'm not comfortable with it. Especially since Sasuke and I have been together for a while—"

"Together, but not _together_? He's been gone for a while, hasn't he?"

She blinked in surprise and he could tell that she wanted to be offended by his insinuation. The spark of anger flared behind her gaze and Kakashi's lips widened into a mischievous grin. Sakura looked away from him again and sighed. "Yes, he has. And, it seems that he won't be back for a while. Which brings me to our predicament." When she didn't continue, Kakashi nodded.

"I'm listening."

"I wrote him a letter," she whispered, ducking her head to stare down into the grocery bag. "I have no idea when he'll get it and I don't think I'll be comfortable doing anything until I hear from him. I understand if you don't want to wait for that time to come. I won't ask you to wait. So," she took a breath and lifted her gaze back to his. "If you want to continue…whatever this is, I'd like that, but I can't sleep with you."

Kakashi remained quiet, letting her words sink in before he reacted. A part of him was beyond disappointed, another part was furious at Sasuke Uchiha for forcing them into this kind of predicament. Not that he could blame the guy…who would want to give Sakura up? Then again, who would want to _leave_ her here?

He sighed and looked to the sky above them. The sun had dipped below the horizon by now, but the light still reached the fluffy clouds against the violet sky. He stared at the bright swaths of colors, slowly moving along the horizon high above village. What had he said earlier?

 _She's worth the chase._

Kakashi lowered his face down to look at her, his eyes searching hers. Anticipation was clearly written across her face and he could see how badly she wanted him to tell her he would wait. Her lips parted and he smiled, speaking before she could.

"What are you doing next Thursday night?"

Sakura blinked in confusion, shaking her head as she wracked her brain for any explanation. It was cute, watching her try to make sense of him. "I…I'm not sure. I think I'm meeting up with some friends for drinks but—why?"

"Well, I'm meeting up with some friends for drinks as well and wondered if you'd like to come along."

"W-with your friends? Like, meet them?"

Kakashi laughed at her stammering but nodded. "Yeah. They'll be drunk, and I doubt they'll even remember you the next day. Feel free to bring your friends, if you want."

Sakura shifted the bag of groceries again and frowned. "I don't want to intrude on your night." She moved forward, heading in the same direction they had been walking earlier and Kakashi fell in step beside her.

"You wouldn't be." He took a deep breath, wondering if he should even tell her that it was for his birthday. It would be more fun to see the look of surprise on her face Thursday night, if she did decide to come along. "It's just a thing we do sometimes."

"O-okay. I'll try to be there, but I can't make any promises." She was quiet for a moment as they walked on. Once they crossed onto the familiar street that lead to her house, she spoke up again. "Erm, about the rules—"

"Sakura, it's fine. I'm not going to push you to do something you're uncomfortable with. We can make a deal, okay?" He shifted the bag so he could glance down at her on his left side. Her bottom lip was clamped between her teeth and he nearly groaned, wishing she wouldn't do things like that. Surely, she knew how badly it made him want to kiss her again. "I'll keep my hands to myself and try to be good, and you let me know when you don't want me to be good anymore."

The toe of her boot caught on a loose patch of gravel and she stumbled a bit. He reached out and grabbed her, wincing from the sudden pain along his injured elbow. Luckily, she was too distracted by the deal he proposed to notice him reacting to the sharp movement. "You alright?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Erm, yes. I'm fine." She blew a curtain of pink away from her blushing face, glancing up at him nervously. "I…I think I can do that."

"Good."

The rest of their walk to her doorstep was quiet, though the tension between them spoke louder than any words. A few times, she opened her mouth and looked as if she had something to say, but in the end, she clamped her lips shut. Kakashi couldn't help his smirk. It was strange how much he adored getting under her skin like this.

She turned up the narrow path through the small yard that lead to her front door and smiled nervously up at him as she fished the keys out of her pocket. "Thank you for carrying my bag." She twisted the key in the lock and pushed the door open with a bump of her hip. "And again, I'm sorry for snapping at you."

Kakashi handed over the paper bag and watched as she set them on a small table just inside the door. Her keys dropped next and she turned back to him with a shy smile. He noticed her playing nervously with her fingers in front of her and he reached for them. His fingers curled around hers, feeling them tremble beneath his touch. "You don't have to apologize. I'm glad I ran into you tonight." His voice was barely a whisper as he stepped closer to her in the darkness of her doorstep.

"You are?"

"Mmhmm." He brought her hand to his face and reached up to pull his mask down to his chin. He lifted his gaze to her as he gently pressed his lips to her knuckles. "You've been on my mind since last night."

Sakura sighed shakily, her eyes fluttering close. She didn't respond, didn't exactly have to. He could see what he was doing to her by the look on her face. The flush across her cheeks hadn't faded a bit and her lips parted with a trembling breath.

Kakashi smiled against her hand as he kissed once more and backed away. "I should go," he whispered, slipping his mask back into place.

Her eyes snapped open in surprise and she met his gaze. "Oh," was all she could say and Kakashi guided her hands back down to her sides. He reached up and grazed his thumb across her lower lip, dragging it down just enough to make her want more. She leaned into his touch, but he took another step back.

"You see, I promised someone that I would be good. And if I don't leave now, I'm going to want to do some _very_ bad things."

Her eyes widened, catching some of the light from the street lamps. She took her lip between her teeth and gave him a coy smile that was anything but shy. _Fuck_ , he thought to himself. _If I don't leave now, I really will do bad things to her._ He stepped down from her doorstep and winked, turning on his heel.

He left her standing at her door and though he didn't turn around to check, he knew she watched him go.


	9. High Stakes

"Explain to me again what we're doing here," Ino's voice cut through the sound of muffled music coming from the building across the street from the three women. For the past few minutes, Sakura, along with Hinata and Ino had been standing on the sidewalk across from the address Kakashi had given her earlier that week. None of the women had said a single word until Ino couldn't take the silence much longer.

Sakura winced slightly and glanced to the blonde at her left before shrugging. "I already told you. We're just popping in to say hello and then we can leave."

"Ah, right." Ino leaned back and shared a look behind Sakura's head with Hinata, one that the medic chose to ignore altogether as she continued to stare at the front windows of the bar. There was already a crowd inside, a rowdy one from the sound of things, and she didn't know if this was something she wanted to do.

Being with Kakashi alone, or at the very least without their friends around, already wreaked enough havoc on her nerves as it were. But, having her two best friends, one of which was capable of being incredibly critical, was making the knots in her stomach tighten to impossible levels.

"Well, are we going to stand out here all night or actually go in?"

Sakura ignored her question and pursed her lips, not looking away from the front windows of the building. If she were being honest, she was having a bit of trouble actually forcing herself to move. Just knowing he was inside there, and would more than likely drive her crazy, was making her hesitate.

With a dramatic sigh, Ino hooked her arm around Sakura's elbow and stepped off the street, dragging the girl along behind her. "Wait, maybe we should just—" She didn't have a chance to finish before the blonde held up a single finger to silence her.

"No, maybe we shouldn't just. We got ready and came all the way downtown for a night out and even if I have to drink in a rowdy bar, I'm going to have a good time." They were across the street by the time she finished speaking and though Sakura tried to wrench her arm free, Ino held tight. Behind them, Hinata hurried to catch up, hiding her giggle behind her hand. "Now, stop being a baby and come on."

The front door opened, and Sakura held her breath as the noise that she had thought was loud before came bursting out around them along with a cloud of smoke. The entire bar was a long, somewhat narrow room. Toward the front, some older, very drunk gentlemen were sharing a round of beers and singing offkey to a song playing over the busted speakers sitting in the corner.

Ino and Hinata both glanced toward the group, who looked to be celebrating something with as much alcohol as they could possibly drink. While they were momentarily distracted, Sakura sucked in a tiny breath at the sight at the crowd in the back of the room.

A group of about six were standing around a dart board, drinks in hand as they argued loudly yet playfully with one another. But, in the middle of them, with his back turned toward her, was the one person who made everyone else disappear. Butterflies were going absolutely crazy inside her stomach and she couldn't keep the smile off of her face if she tried.

At her side, Ino grabbed her arm. "We're the only women in here," she hissed.

Sakura wanted to remind her that they may have been the only women, but they could probably take on and kick everyone else's ass without breaking a sweat. But it was Hinata who spoke up first. "That's not true. The bartender is a woman."

"Let's go get a drink," Sakura said, putting her hand to her friend's backs before pushing them toward the bar that ran along the wall in the middle of the room. She dropped into one of the stools, glanced toward where Kakashi was still distracted by his friends, and hoped she would have a few minutes before he noticed her to calm her nerves.

"Oh, god, Forehead." Ino rolled her eyes, leaning toward the bar to address the older woman who turned to face them. "Hello! Can we get three glasses of red wine, please?"

The woman's thick eyebrow arched on her forehead. "You want wine? In here?"

"That's right." Ino turned away from the bartender to face the woman at her side who was trying to hide behind Hinata. "Will you stop?"

Sakura winced from the volume of her voice and put her hands up. "Don't be so loud! I'm trying to be _discreet_." She peeked around the Hyuga's head to make sure their presence wasn't noticed yet and breathed a sigh of relief. Kakashi's back was still turned toward them as he pointed to the dartboard and complained about cheating.

"I can see that. What I'm trying to figure out is _why_ you're trying to be discreet."

"Because," Sakura sighed, reaching for the wine glass that was set down before her. She paused long enough to take a sip from what was clearly a cheap excuse for red wine. "I just need a few minutes to prepare myself."

"This isn't a Pap Smear, Sakura." Ino shared a dubious glance with a wide eyed Hinata before they both turned back toward their friend. "He's just a guy."

"You don't understand. Just being around him is very intense for me," she paused to knock back the rest of her wine, noticing that neither of her friends had eve taken their first sip yet. "I can't really explain it."

"God, you really have it bad for this guy."

Hinata cleared her throat and gave Sakura a wide-eyed look. "You don't really have time to explain it because I think he's coming over here."

Sakura felt the color drain from her face, and she looked desperately at her empty wine glass. She was going to need a hell of a lot more cheap wine than this if she was going to make it through the night. And since the bartender was currently busy with watching the muted television hanging from the wall above her head, Sakura had to do something. She grabbed Ino's glass and put it to her lips, gulping the wine down before Kakashi could make his way to them.

"Hey!" Ino shouted in protest, frowning down into the empty glass that was passed back toward her. "You're paying for that one, Forehead."

Her words went in one ear and out the other and Sakura prayed to every deity above that the wine hadn't stained her lips. She smiled, straightening in her stool as Kakashi slid into the one next to her. Like always, his face was covered but she could see the smile in his eyes and once again, her stomach was a flutter of lunatic butterflies.

"Hey," he said, his voice deep and smooth. "How long have you been here?"

"We just got here, actually," Ino answered with a pout, mourning the loss of her wine. "And your girl has already managed to annoy me."

Kakashi's eyebrows lifted at the mention of _his girl_. In that moment, Sakura could have killed Ino and she tried to keep her blushing to a minimum while ignoring the blonde behind her. But how could she be expected to keep her cool when he was looking at her like she was the only person in the room?

"Well, you're all more than welcome to join us in the back."

"Oh, we don't want to interrupt your guy's night." Thankfully, the bartender made her way back around to refill their glasses and Sakura snatched hers up quickly. "I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate that very much."

Kakashi ducked his head with a soft chuckle before glancing back at the group of friends he had left by the dart board. From over his shoulder, Sakura could see all of their eyes turned toward them, watching closely. Heat rushed to her face and she knew she had to stop blushing if she wanted to get through the night without passing out.

"I think they'd appreciate having a few pretty faces to look at. Besides, we could always use some more teammates." Without waiting for their answer, Kakashi stood from the stool and held his hand out for Sakura to take.

It felt like every person in the bar was staring at them, waiting for her to take his hand and as much as she was dying to, Sakura hesitated. Behind her, she heard her two friends stand from their stools and pick their glasses up from the top of the bar. As Ino passed by the two, she grinned back at Sakura. "Well, it sounds better than sitting here being _discreet_ for the next hour."

Yep. Sakura was definitely going to have to kill Ino.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Sakura stood from her seat and slid her fingers into Kakashi's hand. A tiny static shock passed between them. It wasn't enough to hurt but they had definitely both noticed it. He looked over at her and the smile faded from behind his eyes, smothered out by a sudden heat that Sakura could feel in her bones.

The sounds of the bar, the feeling of being watched, it all faded away and Sakura struggled to breath. How was she supposed to keep her hands off of him when all she wanted was to push him against the bar and ravage him.

Thankfully, Kakashi seemed to come to his senses before she could do anything rash and he pulled her toward the back of the room. Ino and Hinata had already found their seats around a small, square table nearly covered with beer bottles and shot glasses. They said their hellos and Sakura swallowed, more nervous than she had any right to be.

Before they could join the group, Kakashi ducked his head toward her ear. "You can't look at me like that if you want me to be on my best behavior." His voice made her entire body tense up, but his words sent a wave of chills rolling down her arms.

He gave her no time to respond, pulling her toward his friends with a grin that was evident in his eyes. "This is Sakura, Sakura this is everyone." He reached around her to pick up a half-drank bottle of beer.

"Hi," she managed to say, forcing herself to smile as she dropped into the chair between her friends. Ino was already in a conversation with one of Kakashi's friends. He lounged back in his chair, one arm behind his bandana covered head while a senbon twitched between his teeth. Leave it to Ino to already make a friend.

The girl was the very definition of a social butterfly, which left Sakura and Hinata to sip shyly at their drinks. Which only angered Sakura. She wasn't usually this way. Back in her youth, she had drunk her male friends, Sasuke included, under the table numerous times. She had never been this nervous around a guy before.

What was wrong with her?

Could it be just that she had been out of the game for so long that she no longer knew how to even play it? Or was it something else…

She glanced up at Kakashi just in time to see him slipping his mask back into place over his nose and she blinked in surprise. _Damn it_ , she cursed to herself. _I need to pay more attention to him when he's drinking._

He set the bottle back down on the table and took her hand once more, bringing her to her feet. "You ever play darts?" He asked, pulling her around the table to join the rest of his friends crowding around the dartboard.

She glanced nervously at them, though none were paying much attention to her, too focused on having a good time and getting drunk. "No, I don't think so."

"Well, basically, we never learned the proper rules, so we have our own ways to play. And at he moment, we're playing what we call High Stakes Bullseye." He positioned her in front of the board but far enough back to make it a bit challenging. Sakura looked down at the tattered dart he set in her hands. The thing looked like it had been around since the dawn of time and she inspected the dulled tip.

From over her shoulder, Kakashi pointed toward the board and leaned down closer to her ear. "Basically," he said, quiet enough that only she could hear. "You need to try to get it as close to the center as you can while the opposing team does whatever they can to distract you. They can throw their hands up, make faces, whatever. But, if you hit them, they get two throws next turn."

It was hard to concentrate on anything aside from the pressure of his hand on her side and his breath against her ear, but she nodded anyway. Throw the dart at the bullseye. Not too hard. As Kakashi backed away and clapped his hands, the rest of his friends who were not engrossed in a conversation with Ino looked their way.

"Alright, Sakura is going to try it out for the first time so no distractions."

She glanced up at the man beside her and back to his friends as they made two lines on either side of the dartboard, waiting for her turn. Most of them seemed drunkenly happy, cheering her on and talking shit to Kakashi. But there was one pair of eyes in the back of the line on the right of the dartboard that Sakura recognized.

He was a member of the Anbu and she had treated him a few times before at the hospital. He was always quiet and the look in his eyes from what she could remember was as intense as they were fixed on her at the moment. But she couldn't shake the feeling that he was judging her almost.

She frowned, and for a second, wanted to hand the dark back to Kakashi and make an excuse to leave. Thankfully, the shinobi brought his beer to his lips and looked away from her, suddenly getting caught up in the shit talking.

 _Weird_ , Sakura thought. _Maybe he's just an intense person…_

She ignored the banter between the guys, fixed her gaze on the dartboard and pulled her arm back. The dart left her hands and hit the board with a thump, closer to the bullseye than any of the others stuck into the cork. Silence fell over the group and the guys turned to stare at her shot.

"Okay," Kakashi said with a nod, throwing his arm playfully around her shoulder. "Sakura's on my team."

The shinobi closest to Sakura turned and held his hands up in protest. "How is that fair? We're already out numbered three to two over here!" He was shorter than Kakashi but handsome and the thin scar across his nose only added to his good looks.

"Yeah, well, it's my birthday so I get to choose my teammates. You can take Gai."

As a taller, dark haired ninja shouted in protest at the sudden change to the teams, Sakura whirled around to face Kakashi, eyebrows lifting in surprise. "Wait, it's your birthday?"

He laughed and picked up his bottle of beer once again, giving her a shrug. "Did I not mention that?" Behind them, the rest of his friends adjusted to the new addition to the game and gathered the darts stuck in the board. Sakura shook her head, still trying to wrap her head around the news. Why hadn't he told her?

"I feel bad. I didn't get you anything," she said, keeping her eyes on him as he took his place at the front of the line. He pulled her by the elbow so she was standing next to him in line.

"Well, if you win this game for me, I'll consider that my gift." The grin he had wrinkling the corner of his eyes was infection, and she found herself smiling up at him in return. In fact, she didn't even try to push him away as he looped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him, ducking his head back to her ear. "Or, I can think of something else you could give me."

For the millionth time since she met him, blood rushed to her face and she was sure she was lit up brighter than the neon beer signs behind the bar. He released his hold on her and nodded to the line of opponents across from them. "Iruka, you're up first."

The man with the scar took his place where Sakura had been standing earlier and while he focused, she saw exactly what Kakashi had meant by distractions. The rest of Kakashi's group waved their hands in front of the board, made vulgar gestures and shouted obscenities that Sakura had never heard before. The one Kakashi had referred to as Gai was thrusting his hips and pumping his arms, despite being moved to the opposite team.

Judging by the glazed look in his eyes, Sakura could asses that he was very drunk already, though she could have guessed as much from the hip thrusting. As Iruka set up to make his shot, Sakura suddenly remembered her own friends and glanced back at where they both sat at the table. Hinata was talking a bit more animated than usual, a result of her empty wine glass, while Ino stared up at Sakura with a raised eyebrow and coy smirk on her lips.

The soft thump of the dart hitting the board pulled Sakura's attention back to the game. Her eyebrows raised at the sight of Iruka's bullseye. Damn. How had he been able to focus through all the distractions?

"Shit," Kakashi cursed with a shake of his head. "Now we have to take a shot."

"Wait, why?"

"Anytime someone gets a bullseye, the other team takes a shot." He grabbed a glass of the tray that the bartender passed around for them. Sakura blinked down at the glass he held out for her and she hesitantly took it from his hand.

Taking shots was something she hadn't exactly planned for and she glanced back at Ino for reassurance. Of course, the blonde was no longer looking her way as she and Hinata refilled their glasses of wine at the bar.

"Is this why you call it High Stakes Bullseye?" She asked, pressing the glass to her lips before tilting it back. The back of her throat burned in response to the alcohol and though she had learned to drink from the best, the corners of her eyes still pricked with fresh tears. As she fought the urge to gag, Kakashi quickly knocked his own back, barely reacting at all.

Sakura chalked it up to her nerves and the fact that she hadn't drank hard liquor in months, hoping she hadn't lost those cool points she had won from nearly making a bullseye earlier. Thankfully, it seemed no one else noticed her grimace and the lines rotated. The next up to throw was Kakashi.

Again, the opposing team erupted in vulgar gestures that Sakura could hardly believe. She glanced back at her friends to find them partaking in a game of their own. The shinobi with the senbon was flipping a ryo on the table top, trying to make it into a shot glass sitting further back. He hit the rim of the glass and cursed, the senbon quickly switching to the other side of his mouth before he passed the ryo to Hinata.

At least they were occupied and wouldn't be sending her little knowing glances that made Sakura blush bright pink. By the time Sakura turned back around to her own game, Kakashi was taking his shot…and missed by an inch away from the center of the board.

"Fuck!" He pushed his hands through his hair and turned to face Sakura. "Gotta take another shot, Haruno."

Her eyes went wide as she watched him take another shot glass from the tray sitting on the table behind them. "Why do I have to take the shot?"

"Those are the rules, unfortunately."

High Stakes Bullseye was going to knock her flat on her ass at this rate and while she was having fun, she didn't want her inhibitions _too_ low. If things kept going this way, she was going to open her legs to Kakashi without a second thought about her current relationship.

After taking the second shot in a row, grimacing as it burned the entire way down her esophagus, she looked back at her teammates. Kakashi had taken his place at the back of the line to await his next turn and to Sakura's complete surprise was tugging his mask down to his chin.

She had seen and felt his face in the dim lights of the arcade the night they had shared their first kiss, but the memories of it hadn't prepared her for this time. Her lips parted, jaw nearly falling to her chest and if she could see herself at the moment, she was almost certain little hearts had filled her eyes. No one should be _that_ good looking.

The alcohol had made her vision a bit hazy, but not enough that she couldn't properly appreciate this. Sakura was so entranced that she offered no disruptive behavior to distract the player from the other team. Luckily for her, Gai seemed to be distracted enough by Kakashi's face.

He released the dart and it hit the outer ring of the board, far from the other two. His curses were slurred as he shuffled around behind Sakura to reach for the shot glasses. And as much as she wanted to continue staring at Kakashi's gorgeous face, it was her medic duty to make sure that Gai didn't kill himself from alcohol poisoning.

She plucked the glass from his hand and smiled sweetly as he reared back to stare at her. "Heeyy, tha's mine!"

"Yes, but I need to refill it," she said sweetly, dumping the alcohol into an empty beer bottle. As Gai fell back into a chair to wait patiently for her, she poured some water into the glass and handed it to him. He took it happily and knocked it back.

"Here, drink the rest of this."

He took the water bottle from her and she made sure to move all the beer and shots away from him. As she took her spot back at the game, she caught the sight of Kakashi's eyes on her. He was smiling and giving her a look that she couldn't read, though it left her feeling very warm and weak in the knees.

"Alright, Sakura!" Iruka clapped his hands and ushered her toward the line. "Your turn."

The dart was handed off to her and she glanced over to Kakashi. He had his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the wall beside the dartboard. The other team was up to their usual antics, but she could tell the vulgarity was subdued on her account. She frowned and dropped her arms to her side, scowling at them. "Well, don't stop on _my_ account. You think I can't take a little smack talk?"

The three of them shared a look, shrugged and dialed it up a notch. She had never heard so many filthy sexual references and though her cheeks were warming by the second, she turned her focus to Kakashi. "If you get a bullseye, we win. No pressure, though."

 _Shit_.

Well, she owed him a birthday present. It may as well be winning this silly game.

Sakura let the dart fly and held her breath, watching as it pierced the board dead center. The team to her left who had been trying with all their strength to distract her stared at the dart with their jaws hanging open.

She barely had time to react herself before Kakashi's arms were circling her waist, lifting her from the sticky floor. He spun her around and she couldn't help giggling in delight. In the back of her mind, she was quite aware that his hand was right against her ass, but she didn't feel the need to correct him.

After spinning her in a complete circle, he set her back down on the floor so he could trash talk the other team, giving Sakura a moment to turn back to her own friends. She fell into the chair across from Ino who was giving her that same look from earlier. "Someone's having fun," she said, leaning closer to Hinata.

She rolled her eyes, though for the life of her, she couldn't seem to wipe the grin off of her face. The shinobi who Ino had been occupied with for most of the game had gotten up to order another round of beer from the bar. Sakura was thankful she had a moment of relative privacy with her friends…despite Gai snoring on the table next to her.

"Maybe. You should play a round. I'm sure they wouldn't mind," Sakura said, turning to look back at the group of shinobi.

"We would, but," Ino's tone made Sakura spin around to face her, eyes immediately falling to the purse she was situating on her shoulder. "We figured you wanted to be left alone for a while."

"What? No, don't leave."

"Sakura, it's fine," Hinata said with a crooked smile. "You stay. I need to be home soon anyway."

The two of them stood to their feet and Sakura felt a little bubble of panic fill her chest. She didn't want to leave the bar and Kakashi behind, but she didn't exactly want to be left alone with him either. She was two glasses of wine and was already two shots deep. She needed her best friends to help hold her accountable. If they were to leave, there was no telling how far she would let herself go tonight.

Sakura reached to grab them both around the wrist, keeping them from turning away. "Just give me five minutes, alright?" Ino opened her mouth, more than likely in protest, but Sakura was already heading back to find Kakashi before she could utter a sound.

She touched his arm and smiled as he spun to face her. He lifted his arm and slipped it around her shoulder, pulling her close enough that she could inhale his wonderful scent. It momentarily clouded her mind and she was having a hard time remembering what she had even planned to say.

Thankfully, he noticed Ino and Hinata making their way to the front of the bar and he frowned, his arm falling away from her. She wanted to protest, to pull it back around him, but knew it was probably for the best that she didn't.

"You're not leaving yet, are you?"

"Yeah, I think they're ready to go."

She suspected he was pouting behind his mask, but he met her eyes, and something sparked behind his gaze. Sakura blinked as he turned to the friend that had stared at Sakura so intensely at the start of their game. He glanced at her, his stare blank but still penetrating. It was _so_ unnerving.

"I'm going to walk her home, but I'll be back."

His friend shrugged a shoulder. "If you say so."

Without another word, Kakashi rejoined Sakura and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. "You don't have to leave your friends for me." She said as he moved them toward the entrance.

At the front of the bar, the older group of men had finished dancing and singing along to the radio and were all sitting somberly around the table, nursing their beers. Sakura shook her head and pushed the front door open, letting in a sudden gust of cool air that blew her hair away from her neck. She hadn't realized how warm she had been inside, and the air felt so refreshing against her flushed skin.

"I know I don't have to," Kakashi said, dipping his head toward her ear. "I want to."

Sakura bit her bottom lip to keep from whimpering and turned to where she last saw her friends lingering on the sidewalk. Of course, now they were no where to be found. Her steps faltered and she stared at the empty streets.

 _Those bitches…_

"They left without me," she mumbled, not exactly sure she wanted to go back into the bar, but definitely not wanting to be alone either. Kakashi glanced up and back down the street, looking for the women who had abandoned them.

"Well, that's alright with me. I kind of wanted to be alone with you, anyway."

"Oh, yeah?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and looked up at him, her lips curling up into a sly smile. "And why's that?"

Whether it was the alcohol or finally being alone with him, she couldn't be too sure. But she knew if she did something she would regret in the morning, she was going to blame Ino and Hinata. This was no longer in her control. How could anyone resist him when they were tipsy, alone with him, and in the dark? That was a dangerous combination of things…

But she was feeling a bit dangerous tonight.

Kakashi circled around to her left side and pulled her down the street, unfortunately in the direction of her house. It would take at least twenty minutes to get there, if they continued walking slowly, but that wasn't nearly enough time. Sakura was feeling greedy with him all of a sudden.

She held her breath and watched him glance down at her, a playful glint in his eyes. "We still need to discuss this birthday gift."

Her jaw dropped. "I seem to remember you telling me that if I won the game, that could be your gift."

"True," he said with a nod, reaching up to his chin with his other hand to scratch along his jawline. "But I never thought you'd do it. I underestimated you, and I apologize. So, I'm thinking I want something else for my birthday."

Sakura felt giddy and light on her feet. She knew what _she_ wanted to give him but hoped he didn't ask for it. There was no way she would be able to say no.

Oh, how easily she caved after setting rules between them barely a day ago…

"And what's that?"

Kakashi didn't answer her. Well, not with words anyway. As they passed a brightly lit laundry mat that was deserted in the late hour, he steered her between it and the next building. They were immediately covered in the shadows and Sakura felt her breath leave her lungs.

Her back hit the brick wall and jolts of arousal shot through her midsection. Kakashi was against her in an instant, pulling her arms over her head to hold them against the wall with one hand. His mask was down around his chin before she could even blink and Sakura sucked in a breath at the sight of his face. Even in the shadows, he left her speechless.

Instead of kissing her, like she was so desperate for him to do, Kakashi leaned his forehead against hers and let out a growl that ignited the fire inside her. She squirmed in his grip, toes curling in her boots and he hadn't even kissed her yet!

"I'm trying very hard to be good," he murmured, his lips so close to hers she could feel the warmth of his breath. "But I've wanted to do some very bad things to you from the moment I saw you."

She wanted to know if he meant tonight or saw her for the first time that night in the hospital. Either way, she felt the same. And now, pinned against the wall, feeling the length of his body pressing against hers, she was having a hard time remembering all of the reasons she wanted to keep this from happening.

"I think," she breathed, her lips brushing just barely over his as she spoke. "Just for tonight, you can be a little bad."

His gaze lifted to hers briefly, a second's hesitation to make sure she meant it, before his lips were pressing against hers. Sakura felt as if she were floating and was only assured that she was still on the ground and against the wall by the scratch of the brick against her arms. Their kiss was full of urgency and desire and she was sure she had forgotten how to breathe.

Kakashi leaned his head to the side to better fit against her lips and Sakura opened her mouth, inviting his tongue to join hers. They fell into a rhythm, moving in sync with one another in a way that was slowly building the fire that raged within her. She struggled to break free of the hold he had on her wrists, but he held her tightly, using his free hand to grip the flesh of her hip.

Her thoughts were in a frenzy, struggling between the urge to pass out and wanting to feel every little thing he had to offer. Sakura whimpered into his mouth as his hand moved up from her hip, slipping beneath the edge of her blouse. The warmth of his fingers against her chilled flesh sent shivers across her body and she arched into his touch.

Above her head, Kakashi released his hold on her wrists and dropped his hand to join his other that was slowly making its way up her ribcage. She managed to wrap her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her.

He tore his lips from hers with a moan that vibrated through his chest before he was kissing along the length of her throat. She felt him nip at her flesh with his teeth, trailing a line down to where her neck and shoulder met.

Her breath was ragged, and she let her head fall back against the wall, arching into him with every gentle bite he gave her. Gods, they had only been kissing for a few minutes and she was already wanting to take him back to her place. How could he make her feel _this_ good without doing much at all?

As his fingers reached the under part of her bra, tracing along the lace, Sakura gasped. He slipped easily beneath the fabric, finding her nipples already hard and waiting. "Fuck," he murmured against her throat.

He circled her nipple with his thumb, drawing a whimper from her lips that he quickly silenced with his own. His kiss was hungry and electric, tongue dancing against her own to the beat of their pulse. One of his hands dropped from her chest down to her ass, sliding along the curve until he was gripping her enough to lift her. This time, her feet did leave the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist, hooking her ankles behind him.

Pressed against her center, she could feel how hard he was already, and she moaned, slipping her fingers through the hair at the side of his head. He pushed into her and she cursed the layers of clothing between them. What she wouldn't give in that moment to feel him inside her.

For the second time, he broke their kiss and dipped his head down to her chest. She could feel him panting, his breaths warm and quick against her skin. "I need to stop," he whispered.

Sakura closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the wall, torn between the intensity of her desire and her personal convictions. Biting her lower lip, she rolled her hips against him, wanting to get a good feel for the size of him and to have something she could think about much later when she was alone in bed. Kakashi hissed and his grip on her breast tightened enough to make her gasp.

"If you keep doing that, I'll want to fuck you even more than I already do."

It was her turn to curse this time. Despite his warning, her body acted on its own accord and moved her hips in the same motion again. It sent a tiny burst of pleasure through her, like a split-second preview of what was to come. Her fingers tightened in his hair and Kakashi took her by the hips, fingers instantly bruising through her leggings.

He held her steady, but it was his turn to grind against her and as he did, that same sensation as before returned. Sakura's lips parted and she arched her back off the wall. "Sakura," Kakashi whispered, looking up at her with a desperate plea in his eyes. "I don't want to do anything you're going to regret."

She clamped down onto her bottom lip, looking up at the sky through the two buildings they were hidden between. How was she expected to stop this when it already felt so good? She felt bad, but not because she was still technically in a relationship. No, for the first time in ten years, she had gone the entire night without thinking of Sasuke once.

She felt bad for pushing this when Kakashi was trying so hard to honor her boundaries. Gods, it made her want him even more, but she knew he was being strong for the both of them. Nodding, she unhooked her ankles and let him set her back down on the pavement beneath her. She was thankful that he kept his hands around her. Her legs were much too wobbly to support her at the moment.

Kakashi reached to her face, curling his finger beneath her chin to tilt her head back. He glanced from her eyes down to her lips before pressing a soft kiss to them. She could feel he was struggling to keep it as innocent as it was. But after the last few minutes, innocent was the complete opposite of what she was needing.

Why did she have to set those stupid rules?

She sighed and ducked her head as he pulled away, mourning the loss of their intense, unforgettable moment. It was hard to imagine the kiss in the arcade would ever be topped, but he had managed to do it.

"But trust me," he said, bringing her attention back up to him. "When you're ready for it, I'm going to fuck you the way you deserved to be fucked."

And now, her legs were completely useless. She wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet. Hell, her panties were practically soaking wet as it were. She combed her fingers through the hair along his neck and smiled. "Promise?"

* * *

By the time he made his way back to the bar where his friends were all gathered around the table, seeing how high they could pile various things atop a sleeping Gai, Kakashi was feeling rather antsy. It took the entire walk back from Sakura's house to lose his hard on and he had only managed that by imagining the Hokage doing lewd dances while completely naked.

It was hard trying to forget the way Sakura had felt against him. But he pushed it out of his memory, letting the memory lie in wait until he could get home. This time, there would be no way he could resist jerking off.

Not after the way she had been grinding against him and making those delicious sounds—

He paused just inside the door to the bar for a few deep breaths, fighting back the erection threatening against the inside of his boxers. There was no way he could face his friends with a hard on. Not because he was embarrassed, but mostly because they would never let him forget it.

And he didn't want anything ruining this night.

It was a rare occasion for him to actually have an enjoyable birthday. Most of the time, he spent them alone at home, avoiding any contact with anyone who might know the date. This year, his teammates and friends refused to let him celebrate that way.

Afterall, he was turning twenty and it was an occasion to be celebrated. He just wished he could celebrate it by being inside Sakura at the moment. _Fuck_ , he had to stop thinking about her. At least for the next hour or so until he could slip away and make it home.

After that, he would be free to imagine her doing all kinds of things, in multiple positions. For now, though, he moved toward the back of the bar and rolled his eyes at the tower of beer bottles balanced on the back of Gai's head. Genma was doing the best, stacking them three high along his shoulders and arms.

Over the tower that teetered on top of Gai, Kakashi caught sight of Tenzō's gaze. And he instantly knew what that look meant. _Ah, fuck_. He rubbed the back of his neck and circled the group, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to avoid him for the rest of the night.

Tenzō took a seat at a separate table closer to the dartboard, bringing his beer with him. As Kakashi lowered in to the chair across from him, Tenzō arched an eyebrow.

"What are you doing, man?"

Kakashi looked around and shook his head in confusion. "I'm coming to sit with you."

"You know what I mean," he mumbled, pressing the bottle to his lips to take a drink of the beer.

With a sigh, Kakashi glanced back at the others and pursed his lips. If he wanted a true boner killer, this conversation would be what he would use from now on. A dancing, naked Hokage was no longer needed. Shrugging, he turned back to face Tenzō. "I'm not doing anything. I thought for sure you'd be more drunk than this by now."

"Oh, I was. But, seeing Sasuke Uchiha's girlfriend waltz into the bar and right into your arms sobered me up real quick."

"Well," Kakashi could feel his annoyance quickly morphing into anger and he tried to hold it back. "I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know that one, nothing happened between Sakura and I, and _two_ , she and Uchiha aren't exactly together anymore."

Tenzō's eyebrows lifted, but the look in his eyes remained. "Is that so? They broke up?"

"Not exactly," Kakashi said, looking down into the opening of an empty bottle. "But he's not exactly around to be broken up with."

For a moment, they were both quiet and the tension between them sat heavy like the smoke lingering around the entire bar. Kakashi spun the bottle in his hands, staring daggers into the glass to keep from looking up to see the judgmental look on Tenzō's face.

The rest of the group gave a loud cry as the tower of bottles came tumbling down over Gai, who snorted in his sleep but made no other move. Kakashi ignored them and tapped his fingers on the side of his bottle.

"Just be careful, alright?" Without waiting for Kakashi's answer, the shinobi stood from the chair and joined the rest of the group.

They were trying to clean up the mess while the bartender waved her rag angrily at them. She was sick of their presence and the mess they had created was the last straw. At least Kakashi had an excuse to leave for the night.

But as he watched his friends scrambling to pick up the bottles of beer while Iruka lifted the sleeping Gai from the chair, Kakashi was no longer in the mood to jerk himself off while fantasizing about Sakura. That mood was killed by whatever Tenzō was trying to do with their little chat.

What did he care anyway?

It wasn't like Uchiha was ever around to do anything about it, and even if he was, Kakashi wasn't afraid of him. And honestly, he didn't care if Uchiha knew. What kind of man would leave someone he loved behind anyway?

He chose to leave Sakura in Konoha, chose to let her live alone and feel miserable and lonely all the time. Kakashi could see—hell, anyone with _eyes_ could see—how she tried so hard to hide her loneliness. Her self-confidence was shot, and it pissed him off.

Was it any wonder that someone else came along and realized how amazing she was? If Sasuke Uchiha wanted to keep Sakura for himself, he should be here to fight for her. But he wasn't, and for some reason that he couldn't even begin to explain, Kakashi wanted to be the one who would.

* * *

AN- Kakashi catching feelings...those are some dangerous games.


	10. Let's Get Physical

A huge thanks to Ohayohimawari for editing this chapter for me! 3 3 3

* * *

"Hana has _what!_?" Sakura stared at the medic in front of her. Surely, she had momentarily gone crazy and could no longer hear words correctly. Because if she hadn't, then what this nurse was saying was that Hana Inuzuka would be out of work for the next week or so.

And if she were out of work for a week or so, then her appointments would pass to Sakura.

And if her appointments were now Sakura's, that meant—

"She has the chicken pox. Shizune-sensei told me to divide her appointments up among the physicians but for you to take her confidential patients." The girl, who appeared to be younger than Kakashi, bowed her head and flinched, waiting for Sakura to take the frustration out on her. And for a moment, she wanted to. She wanted to scream and throw her keyboard at the girl but took a deep breath and nodded instead.

Okay, this wasn't a problem.

Sure, she would now be the physician handling Hatake Kakashi's physical, but that didn't mean she had to freak out about it. She was more than capable of being a mature professional about this. She had handled dozens of physical examinations before.

This would be no different.

She just had to fight the urge to climb him like a tree for about an hour. After the exam was finished, she could relieve her frustrations the same way she had been doing for the past week since she had been pinned against that wall beneath his—

Sakura cleared her throat to pull herself from her thoughts and blinked up at the girl standing in the doorway of her office. "Yes, thank you for notifying me. I'll take a look at the schedule."

The girl gave another nod and turned, pulling the door shut behind her. As soon as she was alone again in her office, Sakura let her head fall to her desk, banging it a few times. Was this karma? Was the universe conspiring against her for giving in to Kakashi as much as she had the last time that she saw him? This was her punishment for being a horny, sex-deprived, thirty year old loser who thought with her pussy instead of her head.

With a groan, she sat up and turned to her computer. She had to check the schedule, had to know how long she had to prepare herself before the exam. She knew she had no available slots open for the day, so that was a small miracle.

The schedule screen popped up and she scrolled through the time slots, chewing the nail on her thumb. Tomorrow was in the clear, though her day would be filled to the brim with appointments. It wasn't until she reached Thursday did she see his name appear in a blue block on the calendar.

' _K.H. Confidential'_

Just seeing those two initials on the computer screen had the muscles of her stomach tightening and her legs crossing in anticipation. She bit her thumbnail and tapped her fingers over the mouse, trying to recall the process of a physical examination in her head.

He'd have to strip down to his boxers.

That wasn't her policy and if she could change it, she would for this appointment at least. Being in the same room with him while fully clothed and surrounded by people was hard enough. They would be relatively alone and he would be half naked and she just _knew_ he would say something to make her breathless.

He always knew what to say to drive her crazy.

So, Sakura would just have to prepare for him being down to his boxers. Not like she hadn't ever seen a half-naked man before. All she had to do was imagine it was Naruto and all sexual urges would fly out the window for her.

Okay, so him being half-naked would be the worst of it. She had taken his vitals before, had been close to him while he was laying on the bed and they hadn't let anything happen, so she could definitely do it again.

Of course, she'd have to ask him the medical questions and they may be a bit too invasive for the relationship level they were at currently. Maybe she could just omit the questions about his sexual activity. Why were they important to a physical examination anyway? His sexual activity was none of her business.

And there was _no_ way she was going to check his… _genitals_.

Sakura groaned and dropped her head back onto her desk, narrowly missing smashing her face into the keyboard. She had two days to prepare herself for this. It helped that she hadn't seen him since the weekend and was still riding the high that he had left her with. If only she could coast through with her fantasies, the memory of his kiss, and the way he had ground himself against her, then she should be fine.

This would be just another routine exam. He was a patient, she was the physician and while they were in the hospital, that's all she would allow them to be.

.

.

By Thursday, she felt no more prepared than she had been hoping to be and sat in her office all morning, chugging coffee after a sleepless night. Sleepless by her own doing, of course. She had tried to prepare at the last minute by vibrating herself into never needing an orgasm again. But it was clear it hadn't worked.

Every time she allowed herself to think about him, she found herself aroused to the point of pain and she sat behind her desk, legs crossed and foot bouncing impatiently. She had very little time to prep. The appointment was scheduled for 10:30 and she had spent nearly an hour giving herself a mental pep talk after walking in the doors earlier that morning.

She had to prep the room, get his chart and all the medical equipment and here she sat, rooted to her chair like a loser. A coward and a loser. It was exactly what she was. She was a loser because at thirty-two, she was behaving like some goddamn teenaged virgin and a coward because she was terrified of what she wanted.

She wanted him and knew her desire wouldn't go away just because she told herself she was a professional. Their absence from one another had done nothing but make it harder for her to control herself.

Frustration boiling inside her, she stood to her feet and snatched his chart from the stack she had prepared the evening before. She crossed her office and shut the door behind her, walking down the hall toward the exam room. Her heels tapped on the tile and she hoped she wore a look on her face that said, 'Try to talk to me, and face my wrath'. She was in no mood to deal with anyone's problems this morning.

She found the exam room at the end of the hall and dropped his chart onto the sink and counter space along the wall. It was as sterile and unsexy as any other hospital room and she hoped the smell of bleach and disinfectant would be a major turn off for the both of them. Sakura replaced the paper on the bed and made sure she had everything she needed to draw his blood.

Usually, it was the lower medics or nurses that handled this, but Sakura still liked to do it herself. She had been in charge of it for so long, she only trusted herself. Once she was satisfied with the room, she checked the time on the clock above the door and whimpered.

It was ten on the dot and she stared nervously at the door. A half an hour was just enough time to find some type of mint to help get rid of her coffee breath and sit in her office to try and relax. But first, she was about to burst and hurried down the hall to the employee bathroom.

She checked her reflection as she washed her hands. It was rare for her to wear her hair down during work, but she had opted against her usual half-hearted ponytail, even going as far as curling the ends. Gods, she was pathetic. Who put this much effort into an hour exam that was impersonal and held no promise of anything romantic in the slightest?

And she wasn't even about to think about how she chose her knee-length, black skirt, which had become a bit tighter around the ass in the past few years and red top that was probably too low cut for her usual standards. She tossed the paper towel in the trash and hid in her office for the next fifteen minutes, chewing enough gum to make her taste mint for the next week.

At 10:25, the nurse from the front desk knocked softly on her door. "Sakura-sensei?" The girl poked her head in with a smile. "Your next appointment is waiting in the exam room."

"Thanks," she managed to croak, hoping the medic didn't notice how flustered she was. The door shut and Sakura stared at it, not moving an inch in any direction. This was it, the moment she had tried to avoid from the beginning.

As soon as Hana was on the mend from the chicken pox, she was going to kill her.

Sakura took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and grabbed her coat from the hook behind her door. She may have been more nervous than she ever had been before in her life, but the time to be a baby about it was over. It was time to do or die.

Her trip down the hall wasn't as quick paced as the last one. She passed each room and the closer she got to the one where Kakashi was patiently waiting behind the door, the more the knots in her stomach tightened. She stopped outside the door, hesitating before grabbing the handle. Had anyone even told him that she would be handling his exam?

She had been so caught up in dealing with her own mental issues that she hadn't even thought about letting him know. The corner of her lips twisted, and she hoped no one had informed him. It would be priceless to see the look on his face.

Sakura twisted the door knob and stepped in the room. Immediately, she was overwhelmed by how _good_ he smelled. It was all over the room and overpowered the smell of disinfectant that she had been hoping would make her less aroused. He had his back to her, looking at a chart of the circulatory system pinned to the wall. His hands were in his pockets and Sakura frowned at his bad posture.

She would definitely touch on that during his exam.

He turned to face her, and his eyes widened in surprise. Oh, good. No one had called to tell him about the change. She couldn't help the grin spreading across her face as he took in the sight of her.

"Well, hello," he said, a smile hidden behind his mask but clear by the tone of his voice. "I thought Inuzuka-sensei would be my physician?"

"She is out sick at the moment, so you're my patient for the day."

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and moved to the center of the room, following her to where his chart sat on the counter. "I'm definitely not complaining," he murmured, his voice husky and deep.

Sakura whirled around before he could reach her and put a hand up, careful not to touch him just yet. "Hold on," she warned with a playful scowl. "I think we should set some boundaries before we begin—"

"You're always setting boundaries." He moved closer, pushing his chest against the palm of her hand and Sakura swallowed. His half-lidded gaze moved to her lips and she backed into the counter behind her.

" _Kakashi_ , I'm your doctor right now. We're going to do your physical examination, draw some blood, and after we're finished—" His eyes lit up. "We can go get some lunch together."

"Is that a euphemism for something more? Because I'm already in the mood to _eat_."

And there it was. She knew it was coming, knew he could say just the right thing to drive her crazy, but she hadn't expected it so soon or for her to react to it. Her thighs clenched and she nearly dropped his chart, catching it at the last minute. She swallowed back a whimper and shook her head, turning to face his chart. "I need you to undress to your underwear and there's a gown laid out for you, if you're more comfortable covered up."

Unfortunately, he did not follow her orders. Kakashi moved behind her and pulled her hair to the side, exposing her neck. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to the spot just beneath her earlobe. "I like it when you tell me what to do."

"As much fun as it would be to play along with you, I do have other appointments today, you know?" She turned to look up at him from over her shoulder. "I need you to be on your best behavior. Can you do that for me?"

Kakashi groaned and backed away, the playful gleam lingering in his gaze. "I suppose I can. Only because you asked me so nicely."

"Good," Sakura said, turning back to scribble in his chart. Though truthfully, she was just trying to buy herself time. Being near him again was bringing back all of those delicious thoughts she had been having over the past few days and her body was responding in anticipation.

From behind her, she could hear him unzipping his Jōnin vest and she shut her eyes. The swish of fabric as it brushed along his body made her toes curl in her shoes. Oh, how she wished she could be the one undressing him. Her fingers were practically itching to get a hold of him.

Once she was sure he had finished, she turned around and felt her stomach plummet to the floor. He stood before her in nothing but a pair of grey boxers that sat so low on his hips she could see exactly where the line of silver hair down from his navel reached. She followed it with her eyes and quickly moved them back up to his face.

Particularly his mask.

Sakura moved his chart in front of her and clasped it with both hands. She cleared her throat and looked pointedly at the strip of fabric around his face. "The mask as well, Hatake-san."

His gaze met hers, eyes narrowed and fiery, and her breath hitched in her throat. He had taken his guard down around her before, lowering his mask to kiss her in the arcade and the alleyway. Both of

those times, however, had been in the cover of the dark. She had seen enough to know he was far too handsome than any man had the right to be but seeing it in the light of the day was making her heart beat just a bit faster.

Kakashi lifted his hands to his face, fingers curling around the edges of the material. He pulled the mask up and slipped it off of his head, tossing it to the chair along with the rest of his clothes. With a quick run of his hand through his hair, he raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that asked, ' _Well?'._

Fuck. She had been expecting it and it still caught her off guard to see his face. She let her eyes drift along his features, from the tip of the scar on his cheek, to the slight tan line across his nose.

Sakura was grateful that they were in the hospital at that moment. If they had been anywhere else, grocery store, bar, out in the middle of the woods, _wherever_ , she would have let him fuck her ten ways to Sunday. Instead, she cleared her throat and set his chart down on the rolling table next to the exam bed.

"Have a seat, please," she instructed, proud of herself for keeping her voice from cracking.

As Kakashi slid back along the bed, she looped her stethoscope around her neck and grabbed the otoscope. She turned to him and gave him the same kind of smile she would give an elderly woman coming in for a check-up. "Ready?"

He met her eyes and remained silent. The little curl at the corner of her lips told her more than his words ever could and she stepped forward, positioning herself between his knees before pointing the otoscope at his face. "Open wide, please."

He did as she asked and Sakura inspected his throat and mouth, finding nothing but straight teeth and a pink tongue that made her face flush. Next, she checked his ears and eyes and by the time she laid the otoscope down on the cart, her palms were damp with sweat.

She had never inspected someone she wanted to sleep with so thoroughly. It was the strangest thing that had ever happened to her. And no matter how clinical it all seemed, it didn't change the fact that she was still struggling not to crawl into his lap and have her way with him on the exam bed.

Her frustrations were mounting with every task she performed. His blood pressure was as perfect as a doctor could hope for, pulse was great, and not even so much as a crooked tooth. Regarding his health and appearance, he was a goddamn Adonis and it _wasn't fair._

Sakura pulled the rolling stool closer and took a seat, crossing her legs at the knee before setting his chart in her lap. She spent a moment recording her findings and took a deep breath, dreading the next part.

"Have you been having any health issues since your last exam?"

"Nope."

She marked it in his chart and cleared her throat. "Getting enough sleep?"

"I suppose so."

"Taking any medications or daily vitamins?"

"Should I be?"

Sakura looked up at him through her lashes and swallowed back a whimper. She shrugged a shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it. You seem to be in good health." A glance down at the chart made the blood rush to her face and settle there. "I have to ask you some questions about your sexual health. Are you comfortable with that?"

"Very," he said with a smile she didn't even have to look up to see. It was quite evident in his tone.

"How many sexual partners have you had in the last year?"

"Three."

Sakura's eyebrows lifted in surprise before she could keep herself from reacting and she quickly tried to recover, hoping he hadn't seen her shock. Three seemed like such a small number for someone who looked like he did. He could walk out the door and have most of the straight females in a hundred meter radius if he wanted.

"Are you practicing safe sex?"

"Always."

"Any issues with—"

"Nope."

She looked up at him, her pen stuck to the page of his chart. "You don't even know what I was going to ask."

Kakashi shrugged and leaned back on his hands, his lips twisting in a crooked smirk. "Well, if I have no issues, then it doesn't really matter what you were going to ask." He watched with that infuriating grin as she clicked her pen, set the chart aside and stood to her feet once again. "Is this the part where you tell me to turn my head and cough?"

For the tenth time, a heated blush spread up her chest and she scowled at him. "Since you're confident that you're not having any issues, I'll just skip that part today. Let me look at your side."

With a hand to his shoulder, careful not to touch anywhere that could be in any way, shape, or form sexual, she guided him back on the bed until his head was on the small pillow. She studied the fading bruise across his ribs and gently put her hand above the injury. Almost instantly, he flinched away from her and she looked up at his face. "Did that hurt?"

"No, I'm just a bit ticklish there."

For the second time, her eyebrows lifted in surprise and she pursed her lips to keep from laughing. "Alright, I'll try to avoid that area for now."

"For now?" He asked, glancing down at her hands moving toward his side again.

"Until you're healed," she said, gathering her chakra into her hands as she smiled sweetly to him. "I can't just ignore the fact that you're ticklish."

Kakashi let his head fall back against the bed and though he shook his head, she could see the amusement in his eyes. "You're going to make me regret telling you that, aren't you?"

Sakura grinned as she slipped her chakra into his side, moving over the ribs that had been fractured. The swelling around the muscles and tissue was completely gone and the bones were starting to heal nicely. He would definitely be cleared for missions by the next week and Sakura tried to ignore the little pang of sadness at the thought.

Having him disappear for an indeterminate amount of time, just like Sasuke, would be hard. Especially when she had become used to seeing him so often. Of course, Anbu missions never lasted eleven months or longer, but just knowing he was somewhere she couldn't follow or even know about, had put a damper on her good mood and playfulness.

She pulled her chakra out of his body and moved to his injured arm, tilting it carefully to catch the light. The burns were healing just as nicely as his broken ribs and she saw no sign of infection. He had taken care of himself exactly as she had asked him.

"Slide to the edge of the bed, please." She stepped back and let him move down until his legs were hanging off the edge. He sat up and watched her, his gaze following as she picked up the reflex hammer. Just like the rest of him, his reflexes were perfect. "You can stand, now."

Sakura circled around him and stared at the muscles running down his back. Her fingers twitched at her sides, wanting to run along the length of the cords that stretched beneath his skin. She was so tired of holding back. Knowing their time together was almost up was making her feel a little bit more impatient.

She reached up and put her palm against his spine, right between his shoulder blades. He straightened and turned his head to the side.

"Your posture could use a little work, Hatake-san." She hadn't meant for her voice to be so breathy, but it was hard being this close to him. All she wanted to do was touch him. Her middle finger slowly slid down the center of his back and she watched a shiver roll over his shoulders.

"When you do things like that, it's hard for me to behave."

"Do things like what?" She moved closer to him until her lips were barely brushing along his flesh as she spoke. His skin was cool to the touch, but she felt as if she were surrounded by heat.

In the back of her mind, she could hear that annoying little voice reminding her about rules and boundaries. It knew that she was dangerously close to saying 'fuck it' and doing exactly what she wanted to. The more she allowed herself to touch Kakashi's body, the harder it got to quiet that voice. She needed something to drown it out.

Her hand slid around his side, careful to avoid both his bruise and the place he was ticklish. Her destination was much lower anyway. She spread her fingers across the muscles of his stomach, tracing the shape of his navel before she followed the thin trail of hair down to the band of his boxers.

By now, the voice was screaming in her head. _It's not too late to turn back! You don't want to do this!_

But she did. Gods, she wanted this more than anything.

Slowly, she inched her fingers between the fabric of his boxers and his waist, her touch exploring as she sighed against his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she found what she had been looking for, already hard and _thick_. The breath froze in her lungs, her entire body buzzing with delight at the promising length in her palm.

Kakashi let his head fall back with a groan that set her insides on fire. "Sakura," he whispered, making her eyes lift to the back of his head.

Teasingly slow, she ran her hand up his length and back down, beyond pleased with this fine specimen of male anatomy. The gasp he let out as she pulled her hand out of his boxers made a devious smile twist the corners of her lips. She stepped away from him, though her body was begging to do the opposite.

All she had needed was a just a _glimpse_ of what she was working with. It had definitely shut that annoying little voice right up and she could already tell she would be able to conjure up all new fantasies after today.

Kakashi glanced back at her from over his shoulder, his brow pinched in a frown. She watched him slowly turn to face her, the dark look in his eyes pushing her back against the exam bed behind her. His gaze swept over her face, lingering on her lips before lifting to meet her eyes.

The seconds ticked by so slowly, Sakura was afraid time had slowed to a stop. Her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips and she watched him step closer to her, pressing the length of his body against her own. Pushing against her lower stomach, she could feel exactly how hard she had made him, and she swallowed.

He dipped his head toward her, and her breath froze in her lungs, anticipating his kiss. When it never came, she whimpered.

Kakashi lifted a hand to her chin and curled his finger beneath it, tipping her head back so she could look up into his eyes. "I don't think you know how cruel you are to ask me to be on my best behavior when you can tease me all you want."

Her first instinct was to apologize, but she managed to swallow it back and remain quiet, hoping it annoyed him as much as her teasing did. And for some reason, she was feeling bold and decided to listen to the desire racing through her body and not the little voice in the back of her head that had fell silent over the last few minutes.

Sakura slipped her hand between them and hooked her fingers around the waist of his boxers, the back of her knuckles just barely brushing along the base of his cock. As his breath hitched and eyes slid closed, a wicked smile curled at the corner of her lips.

"I'm not teasing you," she whispered, pushing herself up on her tiptoes until her mouth was brushing along his lips. "I just wanted to feel exactly what I've been fantasizing about for the past few weeks."

Faster than she had been ready for, Kakashi's fingers were sinking into her hair and his lips were against hers. His kiss was urgent, and she could taste the craving on his tongue, igniting the fire inside her that she feared would consume her. One hand dropped to her throat, curling briefly around the length of her neck before slipping lower.

He gripped the front of her shirt and jerked the fabric. The first three buttons of her shirt popped free and scattered to the floor. A part of her was worried about trying to explain why her shirt was so damaged, but the feel of his hand dipping into her bra immediately silenced any protest in her mind.

Sakura gasped as he broke their kiss to trail down the length of her jaw and throat. She let her head fall back, eyes scanning the ceiling tiles as he nipped and licked along her collar bone. And when his mouth found her nipple, taut and waiting, her fingers gripped the edge of the bed beneath her so hard, she feared she'd rip through the vinyl.

Kakashi swirled his tongue around her nipple and sucked it into his mouth, letting it go with a soft pop that made her entire body tremble. Once again, his fingers found her hair and he pulled her face to his. "It would be a bad idea to fuck you right now, wouldn't it?"

She whimpered and shook her head, wanting nothing else except being fucked by him right now. Kakashi chuckled softly, resting his forehead against hers as he drew slow circles around her slick nipple with his thumb.

"What about your rules?"

"I can't even remember what they are right now," she admitted with a blush creeping along her throat and face.

"As much as I'd like to bend you over this bed and take you from behind, I don't want our first time being in a hospital room. I want to fuck you properly, for a _very_ long time." His voice was low and every word he spoke only magnified all the lust inside her. She nodded, unable to do anything else, unable to even form a coherent thought in her head. Thankfully, he continued. "Can I see you tonight?"

Again, she nodded but was able to find her words this time. "Yes. I'm off work at six."

Kakashi kissed her, without the same urgency as before. It was soft and tender, and it made her toes curl inside her shoes. Though the desire was still rampant through her veins, Sakura wanted to live in this moment forever. She couldn't remember a time when she felt so _wanted_.

All too soon, he pulled away and gently traced her bottom lip with his thumb. "Can I come to your house? And not just to pick you up?"

Sakura's throat clamped around any words she could have said. Her brain was trying to keep her from saying something stupid, like ' _yes, please come to my house and fuck me senseless'_. It was frustrating how even when she was absolutely craving him, her stupid moral voice wouldn't let her give in.

Before she could answer him, Kakashi dipped his head and met her gaze. "I don't want to pressure you and won't do anything you're not ready for. I just want to spend time with you without friends, or a crowded arcade, or a hospital in the way."

She laughed and nodded, her hands pressing against the warmth of his chest. "You can come over. Just give me an hour or so to straighten up. Maybe around eight?"

"It's a date."

AN - So, this will be the last chapter I will tease you with...the next one is definitely going to relieve some of this tension I've been building ;)


	11. Oral Fixation

"I can't do this," Sakura muttered to herself, staring down at the open cookbook on her kitchen counter. For some reason, on the walk home from the hospital, she had the bright idea that she would cook something for this date that was already giving her anxiety.

Not only did she have to worry about being alone with Kakashi in the privacy of her own home, but she now had to worry about not burning her house down before he even got there. She couldn't even remember the last time she cooked for someone else. It wasn't something she did often, even for herself.

But she had the brilliant idea that cooking a meal would impress him. God, what had she been thinking?

Putting a hand to her forehead, Sakura read through the ingredient list and made sure she had gotten everything she needed from the grocery store. "Okay, I got the cabbage, the tofu…Oh, God, do I have salt?" She spun on her heel to the spice rack above her stove.

The salt shaker was nearly empty, and she sighed, knowing she didn't have any to refill it. Why the hell was she doing this to herself? He would be here in an hour and she still had to freshen herself up. Not that that meant she was expecting anything to happen between them. But after what had happened during his appointment earlier that day, she couldn't exactly be too sure what she expected.

Just the thought of her hand down the front of his boxers, feeling exactly what he was working with, made her face burn hotter than the glowing eye on her stove. Which was the wrong eye completely.

" _Shit!_ " Sakura moved the pot of water to the back eye and sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead again. Choosing _now_ to try to bone up on her cooking skills was a bad idea. Anymore thoughts of Kakashi or how thick he felt in her hand, and she'd have the place reduced to ashes before he even got there.

And that would be mortifying.

Why was she even attempting this? It wasn't as if her cooking skills was what he was attracted to anyway. Which begged the question; what _was_ he attracted to?

She was a thirty-two year old loser who was still clinging to the fraying threads of a barely-there relationship. She was the last single girl out of her friends and was now actively preying on a man twelve years younger than she was. Ugh, the thought made her sick to her stomach.

She twisted the knob on the stove to turn the eye off and leaned against the counter, frowning down at her failed attempt to make this seem normal. Which was what she was doing in the first place. A part of her was so disgusted with herself that she would not only allow a younger man into her home for the sole purpose of fucking her, but to invite him in after setting those rules?

What did that make her in his eyes?

She wanted to resist but was so weak, she couldn't tell him no?

Sakura snatched the grocery bag off her counter and opened her fridge, tossing the ingredients inside and not caring about the other items that fell over. She slammed the door shut and dumped the pot of water into the sink.

If she was going to let Kakashi fuck her, then she wasn't going to try to make this seem more than it was. It was purely physical, and she shouldn't try to make it anything but that.

Sighing, she made her way up to the second floor where her bedroom was and undressed out of her work clothes. She kicked her shoes into the closet and avoided looking into the mirror behind her. The less she had to look at herself, the better.

She peeled her stockings off her legs and tossed them into the top drawer, wondering if she had time to take a quick shower before he got there. She lifted her arm and sniffed at her armpit, deciding that yes, she did have time. Couldn't have him close if she smelled this ripe.

Sakura gathered her hair into a bun on top of her head and hurried to the bathroom. Several times through the five minute process, she poked her head out of the curtain and listened for any kind of knock at the front door. Time was ticking steadily toward eight o'clock and she quickly rinsed the soap off of her body.

Fog clung to the edges of the mirror above the sink and Sakura swiped a hand through it. She caught sight of the pink tint to her face and chest, turning to the side so she could study the shape of her body. The perkiness of her breasts had fallen through the past few years and she held them higher, sighing at herself.

Sure, Kakashi wanted her _now_ , but would he still feel the same after seeing her naked? He was used to young, perky women who hadn't experienced the stress of aging. Sakura knew she hadn't changed all that much, but if it was enough for her to notice, would he?

Biting her lower lip, she tapped her foot impatiently against the tile beneath her. This age difference between them was starting to become hard for her to swallow. What would people think if they found out? Ino had no problem with it, but she was so thirsty for decent gossip, she wasn't exactly the best judge of right and wrong.

Sakura frowned at her reflection. Was this wrong? Was she being a bad person for doing this when her boyfriend was away, thinking everything was fine and dandy? Technically, she had sent him that letter…but now that she was standing naked in her bathroom, waiting on a younger man to come to her house, she was beginning to wonder if that letter was just an excuse for her to get what she wanted.

And if it was, then she truly was a horrible person.

Lifting her eyes back to her reflection, she pursed her lips and pushed the thoughts from her head. It was easy to see it so black and white when seeing in from the outside. But she had endured too many lonely nights to care about how this may look to anyone else.

The thought of just having someone in the house that wasn't Ino or her parents was enough to make her feel a bit better about things. The last time Kakashi had come over, it was as if her entire house had perked up, even though he hadn't stayed near as long as she would have liked.

Crossing the hallway to her bedroom, Sakura grabbed a comfy sweatshirt and a pair of shorts from her drawer. She remembered the look of pleasant surprise on Kakashi's face the last time she had answered the door in a pair of shorts this tight. She was hoping tonight would be the same and it would help distract her from the amount of guilt weighing heavily on her heart.

Sakura pulled the ponytail holder from her hair and rubbed her nails over her scalp as the strands fell around her shoulders. The curls she had spent her morning perfecting had loosened through the day. By now, they were a bit of a mess and she debated on whether or not she should put it all back up on top of her head again.

The sound of a knock at the door made her whirl around to face the hallway. She put a hand to her chest and let out a shuddering breath. For a moment, she stood where she was, feet planted in the carpet of her bedroom. She knew she could just stay there until he went away, that she didn't have to do anything she didn't want to do.

Oh, but this was exactly what she wanted…

Sakura's body moved on its own, hurrying down to the first floor. She passed by the kitchen, pausing long enough to turn the lights off before she was standing in front of her front door. With a deep breath, she pulled it open and reached to turn the porch light on. She hesitated, not wanting to give her neighbors a spotlight on the strange man coming by so late at night.

The porch light stayed off and she stepped back to open the door. Kakashi had a shoulder leaned against the door frame and his head lowered. He looked up at her through his lashes and the dim light from the living room lit enough of his face for Sakura to suck in a tiny breath.

Her gaze raked down his body, taking in the sight of him while her mind suffered from a short circuit. Instead of the Jōnin uniform she had grown used to seeing on him, he wore a grey, long sleeved shirt that hugged every muscle on his upper body. The neckline was in a V shape and Sakura's eyebrow arched at the sight of his chest, fingers aching to grab him by the shirt and haul him inside.

"Hey," she breathed, lifting her gaze back up to his.

It was his turn to take in the sight of her and every inch of her skin burned beneath his scrutiny. His eyes fell to the sweatshirt on her body, particularly the two inches of her midriff that showed from beneath it. He made a noise in the back of his throat, a cross between a groan and a whimper, that sent a wave of heat up through the center of her body.

Sakura reached out and did exactly what she had been wanting to do. Her fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt and she pulled him into the house. He chuckled as she pushed the door shut behind him, dipping his head closer to hers.

"Are you feeling a bit impatient?"

"You have no idea," she managed to murmur before she pushed him back against the door. A flash of surprise appeared across his face, but he quickly recovered, finding a place for his hands around the curve of her hips.

Sakura was on her tiptoes, reaching for his mask before she had even taken a breath. But that was the last thing on her mind. What she needed now was him. Their lips met and Sakura sighed against him, finding relief to the torment waging war inside her mind. It was immediately silenced, and nothing existed but him and her in that moment.

He kissed her with the same hunger she had tasted on his lips the night of his birthday. At her back, he gripped the fabric of her sweatshirt with one hand while letting the other drift down to the curve of her ass. She wished she had opted for wearing nothing and answered the door completely naked. Their clothes were in the way of what she wanted, particularly what she had felt earlier that day in the hospital.

But as she slipped her hands between their bodies, moving to the belt around his waist, Kakashi grinned against her lips and pulled away. He tilted his head to the side and stared at her, eyes narrowed but amused.

"What's the rush?" He asked, spreading his hands up her back and around to her shoulders.

Sakura blinked up at him and let her heels fall back to the floor. "Isn't this what you want?"

"I'm not complaining, but we do have all night." He paused and lifted an eyebrow. "Or do you have someone else coming over after me?"

She knew he was kidding, but she flinched and stepped out of his arms. Like a switch, all of the guilt she had been doing such a good job at pushing away, came flooding back and she pushed a hand through her hair. Kakashi reached for her and took her wrist in his hands.

"I was joking. Are you alright?"

Sakura nodded but couldn't face him. She turned toward the kitchen and turned the light on with her elbow. Her throat was suddenly dry, and she needed some water as soon as possible. Behind her, Kakashi followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the doorway, watching her. She could feel his eyes on her back as she reached into the fridge.

She took a long sip of her water and set the bottle onto the counter, not turning back to face him. This was ridiculous. How could she have gone from wanting to mount him to feeling like _this_ in a matter of seconds? The guilt somehow felt even heavier now.

"Care to tell me what's wrong?" He asked, making her glance back to him with a sigh.

Before she could stop herself, she spoke. "What is this to you?"

His eyebrows lifted to his hairline and he blinked at her in confusion. Sakura didn't wait for him to answer before she continued.

"This between us. Am I just a sexual conquest for you? Because I'm not that kind of person. I know I was just kissing you," she paused for a breath and shook her head. "But I don't think I can do this if that's what it is."

For what seemed like hours, they stood in the kitchen, staring at one another. Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest, studying her face with a gaze that Sakura couldn't make sense of. He seemed almost angry yet curious. Feeling impatient with him, she let her gaze fall to the floor and wondered if she should have just kept her stupid mouth shut.

"I know what you're doing." His words made her look back up at him. "And to be honest, I'm not exactly sure whether I'm angry at you or whoever made you like this."

Sakura blinked in surprise, her mouth opening to respond. It snapped shut as soon as she realized she didn't exactly know _how_ to respond to that. With a scoff, she crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you mean, _whoever made me like this_?"

His jaw clenched behind his mask and for a moment, Sakura wasn't sure was going to even answer her. He looked as if he wanted to turn around and walk out. She wished he wouldn't.

"I mean," he started, his voice quiet and growling. " _Uchiha_. It's not hard to see that his absence and his abandonment has given you a few issues."

"Excuse me?" Sakura dropped her hands to her side and stared at him in disbelief. "You don't know what you're talking—"

Kakashi took a step toward her, his eyebrow arching. "Oh, I don't? Then you weren't just trying to push me away to make things easier for yourself? You want me to tell you that I want to _conquer_ you so you can end this logically? Well, I'm not going to tell you that."

"That isn't what I was asking—"

He shook his head and stepped closer and in turn, Sakura retreated against the cabinets at her back. He ducked his head to lift her gaze to his. "But I will tell you one thing, and I'm not going to keep saying it, so you might want to listen close. _This_ , between us, is something I've never had before with anyone. Yes, I want to fuck you, but that isn't all I want, Sakura."

She was frozen, every muscle in her body tense to the point that she couldn't move even if she wanted to. He scoffed, startling her. As he shook his head and reached for her, she turned away from him and put her hands down on the counter to keep herself steady. Kakashi sighed but moved closer, putting his hands around her hips.

"You've been kept on the back burner for so long that it's as if you can't even fathom someone else wanting you." His words made her drag in a trembling breath, eyes slowly closing. "Sakura, our deal still stands, you know?"

She took her bottom lip between her teeth and tried to pay attention to his words but couldn't make her mind focus on anything aside from his hands slowly circling around to her stomach. Having his arms wrapped around her, his body heat enveloping her, Sakura found it hard to breathe. His scent was overwhelming, but she welcomed it into her senses, wanting to remember it forever.

"I'll only go as far as you want me to," he whispered against her ear. "Just tell me when to stop."

Stopping him was the last thing she wanted to do, not when he was already making her feel things she hadn't felt in so long. A familiar ache was already settling deep within her and she tried to think of the last time she had been touched like this. She could barely remember an hour ago, much less anything further than that.

Kakashi spread his fingers across her stomach, his touch warm to her bare skin. He guided her back, pushing her even closer to his body. Sakura let her head fall back against his shoulder, reaching back with one hand to circle around his neck. Slowly, much _too slow_ in her opinion, he slipped his fingers behind the drawstrings of her shorts, tracing the waist of her panties.

She knew he was waiting for her to stop him and she bit the inside of her lip. As scared as she was, she wouldn't stop him. This was what she had been wanting since the first time they had been alone together. And when he inched beneath her panties, Sakura swallowed down a whimper.

His middle finger followed the length of her slit, dipping between her folds to discover how wet she was. And when he did, he groaned low against her earlobe. Kakashi pushed his finger deeper and as she shuddered against him, he held her tightly with his other hand.

He pulled back just enough to find her clit, the pad of his finger rolling over it and drawing a gasp from Sakura. She opened her legs wider for him and he pressed a masked kiss against the side of her neck. He raised his head to her ear and his breath made her shiver.

"I want to taste you," he whispered, making her eyes snap open. "And as much as I'd like to take you upstairs to your bedroom, I don't think I can wait."

Sakura swallowed as he slipped his hands out of her panties and turned her around in his arms. She gasped as he pushed her shorts down to her feet and lifted one hand to pull his mask down around his chin.

 _Oh, fuck_ …She didn't exactly know how to tell him that she was quite inexperienced in this area. Not by her own choosing of course. Sasuke had never been a fan of oral sex, giving or receiving, and though she had always been curious after hearing both Ino and Hinata sing praises, it was something she had yet to do.

But she couldn't exactly tell Kakashi that. He'd think she was a pathetic loser.

Kakashi reached for the hem of her sweatshirt and lifted it over her head. She let him, watching it fall to the floor as she bit her lower lip with worry. She was so worried about her current predicament that she didn't even notice that she was completely bare chested in front of him. He dipped his head toward her, caught sight of the look on her face and pulled back a bit.

"If you're not comfortable, I could stop—"

"No, it's not that, it's just…" She sighed and put a hand to her forehead, feeling exactly like a loser. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the look on his face when she admitted to him that she was _this_ inexperienced at thirty-two years old. "I've never did that."

"You've never had oral?"

The tone in his voice brought her out of hiding place and she opened one eye, peeking up at him with embarrassment warming her face. Kakashi wasn't laughing, much to her relief. He had a strange look on his face, one that made all the air in her lungs freeze, as if he were trying to figure out _how_ it was possible that she had never experienced this and what he could do to fix that.

Slowly, a wolfish grin spread across his mouth and he reached up to her head, slipping his hand around to the back of her neck. He brought her to him, capturing her lips in a kiss that made her toes curl. Between their bodies, he pushed her legs apart and moved between them, lifting her onto the counter. He hooked his hand beneath her knee, positioning her as close to the edge as he could.

Sakura's heart pounded hard against her chest and she held onto him to keep from slipping all the way to the floor in a puddle of pure arousal. She was panting for breath by the time he broke their kiss, dipping his head to the curve of her throat. Every touch of his lips along her body left fire in his wake and Sakura raked her fingers through her hair as she struggled to breathe.

Kakashi dropped lower and lower, kissing down her breasts and the length of her stomach before he was on his knees on her kitchen floor. He nipped at the skin at the inside of her thigh and hooked one finger around the strip of her panties covering her sex. The back of his knuckle brushed along her flesh and she let her head fall back against the cabinet, knocking into the dishes inside.

Between her legs, Kakashi chuckled and she glanced down the length of her body to his face. He was grinning against her flesh, slowly kissing his way to his destination at the apex of her thighs. Sakura found it quite unfair that he could look so confident and so god damn _good_ while she was a trembling, whimper mess.

With a glance up at her, she could see the satisfaction in his eyes, and she pursed her lips. He was enjoying this, making her squirm and gasp. She watched as he curled his fingers around her panties and pulled them down. She lifted her hips from the counter, giving him enough space to completely undress her. As they hit the floor, she had the sudden realization that this was the first time she had ever been naked in her own kitchen.

She didn't have long to dwell on the thought. Kakashi pushed her legs apart once more and she sighed, looking up toward the ceiling. A hundred thoughts of insecurity ran through her mind like a freight train, none lingering long enough for her to focus on any in particular. All she knew was that she already trembling and wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Of course, it all melted away as soon as Kakashi brought his mouth against her. She felt his lips touch her first, drawing a gasp from her throat. He gave her no time to react properly before his tongue dipped between her folds.

Sakura cried out and her legs tried to close out of reflex. Kakashi caught them and draped one over his shoulder while pushing the other open as far as it would go. He pressed his tongue flat against her, running it down the length of her slit and back up. Just as he passed over her clit, he curled his tongue around it and gave a quick suck.

He smiled against her and she could feel his eyes watching her from between her legs. She couldn't look at him even if she wanted to. Her head stayed back against the cabinet, eyes shut tight. Kakashi kept his grip on her thigh to keep her steady and swirled his tongue in slow, light circles. It felt better than anything she had ever had before.

Everything he was doing, from the bruising grip of his fingers on her flesh, to the way his tongue danced against her, was almost too much. She had to remind herself to breathe, but it felt _too good_ to care about the lack of oxygen. Her lips parted and she reached up, palming her breast in one hand as she sank her fingers into Kakashi's hair with the other.

He groaned against her, the sound vibrating his lips and making Sakura suck in a tiny breath. Her hips twitched and Kakashi abandoned the circles he was making for lapping his tongue against her clit. She didn't know how it was possible, but this felt even better than what he was doing before.

" _Oh, fuck,_ " she whispered, her words quickly turning into a soft moan.

Kakashi sucked and licked in slow, aching rhythms that left Sakura panting and trembling. Her chest rose and fell with every breath and she kneaded her breast, pinching her nipple between her fingers. She had never felt more on display in her entire life. She knew he was watching her, noticing the way she played with her nipple or the way her lips parted with every little gasp and moan she let out.

It only excited her more.

Sakura brushed his hair away from his face and allowed herself to look down at him. She hadn't been prepared for how delicious he looked as he lapped his tongue against her. Their eyes met and Sakura opened her mouth, though nothing could come out.

He held her gaze as he sucked at her clit. As her body tensed, the aching heat building within her, he never let up. He sucked harder and pulled her closer, working his tongue around her clit.

She was going to come.

Sakura closed her fingers around his hair, toes curling from the sudden intensity. Her hips twitched and jerked, thighs trembling and the entire time, his eyes never left hers.

"Oh, god, _Kakashi_ ," Sakura whimpered, gasping between each word. "I'm _coming_!"

Her orgasm was stronger than she had been anticipating and she cried out so loud, she was sure her neighbors could hear her. At that moment, she really didn't give a fuck. Her hips lifted from the counter top and he gripped her ass with both hands. Kakashi held her firmly in place against him, his tongue caressing her as each wave of her orgasm rocked through her.

Her moans faded and she gasped, unable to handle much more now that she was thoroughly sensitive. She pulled away from him and clamped her legs shut once he had moved out from between them. Thankfully, Kakashi stood to his feet and held her steady as she buried her face into her elbow and tried to calm her racing pulse.

She had never experienced _anything_ that good before. No vibrator and no previous sexual partner had ever made her come that hard. She didn't even think _she_ could make herself come like that. It had been so intense that she could barely move, even several minutes after her orgasm had subsided.

Sakura dropped her elbow and blinked up at him, the tops of her cheeks turning bright pink. The front of his shirt and chin were drenched, making a dark ring around the fabric and her jaw dropped to her chest. "Oh, my god," she said, covering her face with her hand. "Is that from me?"

He laughed softly and pulled her hand away from her face. She watched him grab the shirt at the back of his neck and pull it over his head, mask and all, before dropping it to the floor to join her clothes. "Yeah, but don't worry," Kakashi said, cupping her face with the palm of his hand. He leaned toward her, kissing along the line of her jaw until he reached her earlobe. "I like it."

She let out a sigh, letting him tilt her head to the side so he could press his lips to the side of her neck. "So," he whispered. "If you've never received oral, I take it you've never given?"

Again, warmth flooded her face and she bit her lower lip. "Mm, I've tried. He just wasn't into it." For some unknown reason, possibly because she was still possessed by that intense orgasm he had given her, she turned toward him and whispered against his ear, "but I'm willing to try again."

Sakura let out a delighted shriek as Kakashi lifted her off the counter and into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he smacked his palms against her bare ass hard enough that she gave a quick gasp.

"It's not nice to tease, Sakura," he purred against her ear, turning to carry her out of the kitchen and into her living area. She glanced back at her windows to make sure the shades had been properly drawn. Thankfully, her neighbors wouldn't be getting a peepshow from her tonight and she turned back to the man carrying her.

With a smirk, she gave him a wink and brushed the hair away from his face. "Who says I'm teasing?"

Kakashi dropped down to the couch and she bounced in his lap, giggling as he buried his face between her breasts. He took one in his hand while his mouth covered the other, his tongue swirling deftly around her nipple.

Beneath her ass, she could feel how hard he was, and it sent a wave of delicious shivers through her body. Sakura wiggled her hips over his and his grip tightened around her. "God, you really don't know what you're doing to me," he murmured against her nipple, his breath warm against the slick bud.

Oh, she knew exactly what she was doing and with another smirk, Sakura rolled her hips over him again. This time, he tilted his head back to look up at her. "You're making it very difficult to behave myself, Sakura."

"Well maybe I don't want you to behave, _Kakashi_."

Their eyes met and in that moment, she knew that she wanted him to do whatever he wanted with her. There was no more guilt, no more feelings of anxiety or apprehension. But before she let him do what he wanted, there was something she was wanting to give him in return for that amazing orgasm.

Sakura pulled herself out of his grasp and slipped backwards off of his lap until she was kneeling in front of him. Her fingers raked down his bare chest and across the glorious, sculpted muscles along his stomach. In the back of her mind, she promised that she'd spend more time in the future admiring his body. For the moment, she just wanted to taste him.

She met his gaze as she found the button of his pants. Kakashi let his head fall back against the couch with a soft moan and Sakura looked down at the bulge beneath her. His cock pressed against the fabric of his pants and she could see the outline. It looked so much bigger than what she had felt in her hand earlier that day.

Would it even fit in her mouth?

She wasn't too sure, but she was willing to try.

Sakura hooked her fingers around the band of his boxers and slid them down his hips. To help her along, he lifted off the couch enough that she could free him from the fabric and her eyes widened at the sight of his cock bouncing before her. It was certainly bigger than what she was used to and the muscles between her thighs clenched in delight.

She could feel him staring down at her in anticipation and knew that if she were to look up at him, she'd see the same kind of heat and desire she had in her own gaze earlier. But a cock like this deserved to be appreciated and she didn't want to rush anything.

The trail of silver hair that ran from his navel ended at the base of his cock and Sakura was pleased to see that he kept himself trimmed and neat. It was a surprise but a definite pleasant one. Was this what the younger generation was doing these days? She liked it.

Inching forward, she curled her fingers around his shaft and breathed in through her nose. She could tell he had showered recently and whatever soap he used was now her favorite. It was so manly and delicious, and her mouth was already watering.

Kakashi shifted on the cushion and let his head fall back against the couch. At his sides, she could see his fingers gripping the edge of the cushion and she smirked. While his head was back and eyes closed, she sat up a bit until her mouth was over the tip of his cock. She let her tongue out, sliding it flat against the underside of the head and when Kakashi groaned, the sound sent a burst of heat through her body.

Sakura took him into her mouth and found that despite his girth, he fit perfectly.

Now she wasn't an expert at blow jobs and only had a few notches on her belt in that department, but she had been listening to Ino and Hinata talk about their techniques for the past few years and had learned enough from them about how to properly give one. The key, according to her friends, was to keep it wet and go slow.

She dipped her head and pushed him as far as he could go into the back of her throat, suppressing her gag reflex with a bit of chakra control. Judging by the moan that vibrated through his throat, she could tell he liked that. As she pulled back, she gave the tip of his cock a quick swirl of her tongue and he pushed a hand through his hair.

"Fuck," he hissed, raising his head to look down his body at her. "I don't think I believe you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and pulled away from his cock, but kept it pressed against her lips as she spoke. "What do you mean?"

"There's no way you're not an expert at this." He combed his fingers through her hair, and she leaned into his touch. It was such a simple thing, to be touched so intimately while going down on him, but it left her feeling quite warm and wet between her legs.

Sakura decided not to answer him, wanting to prove him exactly right with her novice skills. She may not have been an expert, but she was an eager and willing student. Another swirl of her tongue around the head had him breathing hard and Sakura took him back into her mouth as far as he could go.

As much as she'd love to tease him all night, she could tell he was desperate to come. And honestly, she was more than ready to make him. Inching closer to him, she laid one hand against his hip and used the other to grip the base of his cock. She bobbed her head over him, picking up the pace while also keeping it slow and teasing.

It wasn't long before she found a good rhythm, alternating between pushing him deep into her throat, bobbing up and down, and swirling her tongue around the head as she came back up. She had never worked so hard at making someone else orgasm in her entire life, but she was invested in every second of it.

All of the sounds he was making, the way his hips would jerk and thrust up into her mouth, it drove her crazy with lust and she didn't have to reach a hand between her legs to know she was dripping. Through her lashes, she looked up at him and caught his gaze. She was torn down the middle, not wanting to stop and wanting nothing more than to crawl into his lap and push him deep inside her.

It was clear that he wouldn't last much longer though. The rhythm she had found was exactly what Kakashi was wanting and his body tensed beneath her. His cock stiffened and he let out a low groan, his chest rising and falling with every shuddering breath.

Sakura didn't stop, even as his fingers tightened in the hair at the back of her head. She knew what to expect and wanted to swallow every drop of it. And when his moans turned into a curse whispered from his lips, Sakura knew he would be coming soon.

His cock pulsed and she felt him come against the back of her throat. He let go of her hair and covered his face as he leaned back against the couch, pushing his hips up and gently thrusting into her mouth as she swallowed around him.

"Oh, _fuck_ ," Kakashi groaned, breathing hard. He gasped at the feel of her tongue flat against the sensitive head and Sakura couldn't help smiling wickedly up at him.

She felt so dirty, knowing his cum was inside her, though she knew by tomorrow, the guilt would probably eat its way back up through her. For now, she wanted to enjoy the feeling, knowing she had accomplished a job well done. Or at least, from what she could tell. He seemed to enjoy it, judging by the panting breaths and moans.

Slowly, Sakura rose from her knees and crawled up his body until she was sitting over his lap. He lifted his head and pressed soft kisses in the space between her breasts, his hands roaming over her thighs and up her back. Beneath her, she could feel his cock, half hard and warm against her. He slid a hand up to the back of her head, taking a handful of her hair, gentler this time, before guiding her mouth to his.

He kissed her slowly and thoroughly until she could barely breathe, and she sank into his embrace. It was strange how safe and comforted she felt, especially considering she wasn't even aware she had been wanting either of those things. Being wanted felt amazing, but there was a certain intimacy that she had been denied over the last years. Having it now, even in such a small way, made her realize how badly she craved it.

Kakashi smoothed her hair away from her face and pulled away from her lips, looking up into her eyes. His were half lidded and dark, and though she wasn't sure what exactly, Sakura could feel something pass between them, something they weren't quite expecting to feel. Before he could say anything, she closed the space between them with a soft kiss and laid her head against his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her to him, their hearts beating in sync.

* * *

AN- that ended way fluffier than I had planned, but I really adored this chapter so I hope you did as well!


	12. Promises

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The weekend brought rain and though she had to walk a few blocks from her apartment to the hospital in the downpour, Sakura's mood couldn't be ruined by a little water. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled this much. Even when Sasuke was home and they had spent hours together, she couldn't remember her face ever aching from smiling.

But her cheeks were definitely sore, and she reached up to touch her lips, finding them curled into a small smile that only she knew the reason behind. Well, she and Kakashi were the only ones who knew why.

After their rather steamy encounter in Sakura's house, he had stayed the night, and most of the next day, with her. They barely left the bedroom and then, it was only to eat. And while they did experience enough oral to make up for the years she had been kept from it, Sakura was rather proud of herself for not letting it go beyond that.

Unless fingers and hands counted, but in her book, they didn't.

She dropped into her chair behind the familiar, half cluttered desk and drummed her fingers over the edge of the wood. Her mind was a million miles away from work and she felt like a teenager again. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see the cheeky smirk he gave her before kissing down the length of her body. It was so delicious that Sakura didn't even want to open her eyes. She was completely satisfied with keeping them closed until she could see him again.

Unfortunately, duty called, and currently, it was calling her direct line in her office.

The ringing interrupted her daydreaming and she scowled down at the device. With a sigh, she snatched it up and put it to her ear, hoping to hear that deep, velvet voice she had grown to adore but knowing that he was more than likely still asleep.

"Sakura Haruno's office."

"So, you've finally come up for air?" It wasn't the voice she had been wanting, but it was familiar to her just as much. Sakura laughed at Ino's greeting and turned to boot up her computer.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

On the other end of the line, Ino scoffed. "How about the fact that I called your house twice this past weekend and got your answering machine. For someone who was definitely not at work or out with anyone, you sure are screening your calls."

Sakura rolled her eyes and cradled the phone against her ear and shoulder. She quickly typed her log in information into the hospital's program before sitting back in her chair. "Maybe I just wanted to relax and not have to talk to anyone."

"And I'm sure it had nothing to do with a certain twenty year old, masked man who you seem to be smitten with at the moment?" It was all speculation on Ino's end. There was no way she could know for sure what Sakura had been doing all weekend. The Pig just wanted some juicy gossip.

"I don't know what to tell you. I was just spending a quiet weekend at home." While also enjoying multiple orgasms. What could be more relaxing than that, though?

"Uh huh. Sure. Just know that the next time you want to know what's happening with me, I'm going to keep it a total secret—"

A knock at Sakura's office door had her putting the phone against her chest. She raised her eyebrows as a young kunoichi poked her head in. With a bright smile, the girl gave a quick bow. "The Hokage requests your presence as soon as possible."

Sakura sighed. "I have appointments all day, so he'll have to wait until this afternoon." It wasn't exactly the truth. She only had a few appointments on her schedule and those she did have were quick check-ups.

The shinobi's eyes widened, clearly not expecting that answer. As she stammered, searching for the right words to say, Sakura looked at her a bit closer. It was clear she wasn't a Jōnin judging by how nervous she was. Not to mention, she looked about five years younger than Kakashi. The poor girl probably had never met someone to blow of the Nanadaime so easily.

"H-he was insistent that you—"

" _Hello_?" A voice called from the phone and Sakura quickly jerked it back to her ear in time to hear her best friend's complaint. "Are you ignoring me?"

"Tell Naruto, I'll be there around noon," Sakura said to the girl standing in her door before turning back to the phone. The door shut behind the kunoichi soon after. Sakura addressed the angry blonde pig on the other end of the call. "No, I'm not ignoring you. I do have a job, you know?"

"I'm aware, but you also have a job as my best friend and with that job comes telling me about why you were a recluse all weekend."

She was still on this tangent? Something told her that nothing short of the truth would get Ino to shut up about it, but of course, that would open a whole new can of worms. She would insist on knowing all of the details and while Sakura had been going over all those delicious details in her own head for the past few hours, she wasn't quite ready to share them with anyone else.

With a small sigh, she sat back in her chair and felt a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips. A memory of Kakashi on his knees in her kitchen flashed through her head and she felt a wave of warmth radiate from it. "All I'm going to say is that I _did_ spend all weekend at home—"

"Ugh, you're insufferable, Fore—"

"—but I wasn't alone."

"I _knew_ it!" Ino shouted, making Sakura jerk the phone away from her ear before her hearing was damaged too badly. "Tell me everything!"

Grinning wickedly, Sakura pushed away from her desk and stood to her feet. "Well, I would, but I've just been summoned to the Hokage's office. You know I don't like to keep Naruto waiting."

"Oh, that is such bullshit!"

The phone clicked back into place on the receiver without another word and Sakura chuckled to herself at the thought of how furious Ino was in that moment. She would for sure get an earful later, but she was used to getting that. With a smile still playing at her mouth, she scooped up her next patient's chart and headed toward the door.

If she had to be in the Hokage's office in a few hours, she was definitely going to try to get her morning appointments over as fast as she could. Maybe that way, she could spare a few minutes to sit and dwell on the delicious memories that she had made over the weekend.

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The rain had stopped by noon, but the clouds lingered over head and the autumn wind was biting a bit harder than usual. Sakura hugged her jacket around her body and stuffed her hands in her pockets. She was taking her time, mostly to annoy Naruto who was expecting her any minute. But her day was going so well so far that she really didn't care about being in a hurry anywhere.

A gust of wind scattered a few fallen leaves around her feet and Sakura kicked through them. She wasn't far from the Hokage Tower and her steps slowed to a leisurely pace. Despite the overcast skies, the day was beautiful, and she wanted to enjoy it for just a minute.

Which was exactly what she was doing as she lifted her face to the sky and inhaled the smell of the autumn air. Somewhere in the distance, leaves were burning, and she felt the scent sink into her senses. Until a thought struck through her mind and nearly made her stumble on the path.

She had been completely consumed by the strange feeling of happiness that she didn't even try to figure out what in the world Naruto was summoning her for. _Sasuke_ …Was he back? She felt a bit sick to her stomach at the thought and she turned to stare up at the wide panel of glass on the top floor of the Hokage Tower.

Gods, she wasn't ready to see him again. Which was a surprise seeing as how three weeks ago she was begging for his return.

But knowing his presence in Konoha would put an abrupt stop to her meetings with Kakashi left her with a bad taste to her mouth and she put a hand to her stomach. Her smiles were gone and so was her leisurely stroll. She picked up the pace and hurried down the street, not stopping until she pushed her way into the front doors of the tower.

It was relatively empty, with only one woman sitting behind the desk, waiting to answer calls and make appointments. She lifted her head and smiled politely to Sakura, not bothering to direct her where to go. The staff were used to seeing her come and go by now.

There was, however, another figure lounging on the bench situated between two potted plants beside the elevators. A pair of long legs, one ankle resting over the other knee, was what Sakura noticed first and as she followed them up to the torso, her breath hitched in her throat. Kakashi's familiar Jōnin uniform fit him like a dream, tight in all the right places with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

How were his forearms so hot?

But it was his eyes that immediately caught Sakura's attention and made her steps come to a stop with a squeak of her heels on the tile floor. She put a hand to her chest and waited for her body to take a breath. Her lungs held tight on the air inside them as Kakashi sat forward and raised off the bench.

Even across the hallway from one another, she could feel the fire inside him and it made her want to shed her coat right there. His mask shifted with a smile and he took a step closer to her.

"I think we've been summoned together," he said quietly.

It took a moment for his words to register in her mind. She was far too busy thinking about how talented he was with that mouth and tongue to think about what he could possibly be saying. But the words clicked, and her eyes went wide. Naruto summoned them _both_? Why on earth would he want to speak to both of them? Did he know there was something going on between them? Oh, gods, what if Sasuke had returned and found out?

Sakura's hand slid to her throat and she felt the color drain from her face. Luckily, Kakashi didn't seem to jump right to the worst possible scenario and his laugh helped ease her anxiety.

"Don't look so worried," he said, taking a step to the side. He waved her toward the elevators and she somehow managed to move toward them on shaking knees. "I think it has more to do with my three weeks of healing being up rather than anything about _us_."

The word was whispered into her ear as she passed him, and Sakura put a hand against the stainless steel elevator doors to keep her knees from buckling out from under her. She repeated that word, _us_ , over and over in her mind, liking the way it sounded the more she said it. Were they an _us_? Had they got to that point yet?

It had only been three weeks but even if they were the simplest definition of the word, she quite liked the idea of the two of them being an _us_. She was feeling breathless as he stepped into the elevator alongside her. It was the closest they had been to one another fully dressed since Saturday night. She couldn't help letting her gaze drift down the length of his body and back up, catching the same look in his eyes that she felt in her own.

Kakashi reached over to the panel of buttons, his fingers lingering over the one labeled for the top floor. He turned to glance back at her from over his shoulder before dropping down to the button for the basement. He pressed it and the doors closed, ensuring they would be alone for just a few seconds.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "Naruto's office is on the top floor."

The machinery and gears whirred to life and in an instant, he was in front of her, pushing her back against the wall. Sakura had just enough time to gasp before he dipped his head to her throat and pressed soft kisses to the skin just beneath her ear. "I'm buying us some time. I missed you."

Just his words were enough to make her dizzy but hearing him say these things while his mouth was on her throat and his hands were pushing hers above her head was a dangerous combination. She felt lightheaded and feverish and loved every minute of it. His breath was warm against her jaw and her eyes fluttered close as Kakashi seized her lips with his own.

He tasted just like the remembered—no, _better_. It was like absinth on her tongue, swirling into her bloodstream and making everything in her head hazy and soft. The feel of his palm against her face, guiding her head to the side made her whimper into his kiss.

Behind his back, the elevator doors opened, and Sakura froze, eyes snapping open. She didn't quite know what the basement of the Hokage Tower held, possible records and files, but there was a possibility someone could be waiting outside and watching them. Kakashi smiled against her lips and stroked her hair behind her ear.

"Relax," he whispered, reaching back with one hand to close the doors. As they slid shut once more, Sakura did as he commanded and sank into his embrace. He released the hold on her hands, and she let them fall to his chest to grip the front of his flak vest. They lingered on the zipper, unsure whether to risk stripping him. It would be rather embarrassing having to explain why they were taking clothes off if someone did want to step onto the elevator.

Kakashi made the decision for her and reached between them, slowly dragging the tab down until the vest fell open. Her hands reached inside, greedy to be just a bit closer to him. He was warm and the muscles beneath his shirt were hard. Sakura lifted onto her tiptoes and kissed him again. She wanted to be as close to him as possible.

There wasn't an inch of her body that didn't crave him.

He kissed her with the same greediness and the world melted away from them. Hours could have passed, and she would have never noticed. As long as he was with her, as long as he kept kissing her, she was perfectly happy to live inside this elevator.

Kakashi let his hands fall to her hips and around her backside, giving the flesh of her ass a quick squeeze before he lifted her off the ground. It reminded her of the night of his birthday, when he had pinned her against the wall in the alley. The desire was still there. It hadn't waned in the slightest and Sakura was almost certain it had doubled since then.

Far too soon, he pulled away and lifted his gaze to hers. They were breathless and still clinging to one another, but Sakura couldn't bring herself to move an inch. She was frozen in his stare, seeing everything she had wanted for years and a promise of so much more than she could ever dream of. It was terrifying and exhilarating, all at the same time.

"I think I could kiss you forever."

And when he said things like that, it made her want to give in to him all the way. There was no one else she wanted. "Then, don't stop."

Kakashi raked his fingers into the hair at the back of her head and brought her back to his lips, searing her with a fire that consumed all of the air in her lungs. As his tongue danced against hers, he pushed his hips into her and Sakura whimpered at the feel of his cock, hard and ready for her. He moved his hands to her hips and pulled her up and back down his length. He wanted her to feel every inch of him.

It made her entire body tingle with the promise of what he had for her and in that moment, she had never wanted to fuck someone so bad in her entire life. So much that she was considering letting him fuck her right there in the elevator.

He groaned against her mouth and pulled away to drop his forehead down to her collar bone. His hands tightened around her hips and she flinched from the bruising grip, though she liked the momentary pain it brought. Sakura rested her face against his head and combed her fingers through his hair. She was quite jealous of how soft it was.

Kakashi sighed against her neck, the warmth of his breath making her shiver and her eyes rolled back a bit. "I suppose we shouldn't keep our Hokage waiting," he whispered.

 _What Hokage?_ Sakura thought to herself. Naruto was the last thing on her mind, but now that he was mentioned, she groaned and let her head fall back against the wall. The grip beneath her ass loosened and a moment later, her feet gently touched the floor. She kept her hold on his flak vest, not yet wanting to zip it back up.

"Is it bad that I'd rather stay in this elevator all day?"

Kakashi laughed and shook his head. He looked down at her with a smile before brushing his thumb across her bottom lip. "I know what you mean, but I think a bed would be better suited for what I'd like to do." For added emphasis, his eyes roamed down the length of his body to where his hard on still pressed against the inside of his pants. As he met her gaze again, Sakura whimpered. "Or at least a chair."

" _Stop_. I can't take much more." She wound her fingers through her hair and watched him pull the zipper of his vest back up his chest. Before it could reach the top, she poked her finger just beneath his collar bone. "You're supposed to be on your best behavior."

"This _is_ my best behavior. Just wait until you let me be bad." His grin was wicked and only turned her on all over again. And just when she was starting to calm herself down, too. With one hand, he pressed the button for the top floor, much to Sakura's disappointment, and took her by the wrist with the other. He pressed a kiss to her fingers as the car lifted through the Hokage Tower. "Come to dinner with me tonight. Just us."

Sakura blinked up at him and tried to ignore the fluttering of her pulse behind her chest. Being with him in public still made her apprehensive. What if someone saw them together? If _this_ was his best behavior, she definitely couldn't risk him being so open and affectionate in front of other people. She scowled playfully and smoothed her fingers through her hair, hoping she didn't look too disheveled.

"Only if you promise to behave yourself."

"If I do, will you promise to wear something sexy?"

His hand drifted down her back to her ass and he gave it a tight squeeze just as the bell above the doors dinged, announcing their arrival to the top floor. Sakura jumped and turned to scowl at him again, this time for real. She swatted his shoulder, but the playful, mischievous look in his eye helped her relax a bit.

They stepped out of the elevator and made their way down the hallway. Sakura made an attempt to walk faster than he did. Wouldn't it be strange if they showed up at the same time? To her frustration, Kakashi had no trouble keeping up with her pace and she cursed his long legs. Just outside the Hokage's office door, Kakashi gave her backside another pat and as she gaped up at him in surprise, he slipped around her and through the door with a chuckle.

Now she couldn't walk in with him. Her face was too flushed and though she couldn't see herself at the moment, she knew the look across her face. Would Naruto be able to tell what she was feeling? Probably not, but she didn't want to run the risk of him becoming suddenly adept at picking up on things like that.

Shaking the hair from her face and after checking to make sure none of her clothes were out of place, Sakura pushed her way into the office. She found Naruto sitting behind his desk, papers stacked all around him. She seriously didn't envy the kind of paperwork he had to deal with. Just the amount she had to put up with was enough for her.

He lifted his face and smiled as she walked in. "Ah, Sakura-chan! I expected Kakashi to be late, but you as well?"

The blush she thought she had gotten control of flared back to life and she forced a smile. She refused to look over to Kakashi. She didn't really have to. She could feel his gaze on her and just knew behind his mask was that knowing smirk.

"I do have patients, you know," she said matter-of-factly before taking a seat in front of his desk. "They come first."

Naruto gave her a playful roll of his eyes before and dropped into his own chair. He drummed his fingers across the desk and nodded to Kakashi who took his time sitting beside her. The nearness of him was too much. It reminded her of every little promise his lips had made to her skin and the way his hands had gripped her hips as he grinded against her.

"Speaking of your patients," Naruto's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. She hoped between them and her jacket, no one would be able to see how hard her nipples were. "I do believe today marks three weeks of rest that you put Kakashi on?"

"So, it would seem."

"Which means you can sign off on his recovery and medically release him from your care?"

Sakura shifted in her seat and frowned. Was she comfortable letting him go so soon? He didn't seem to be in anymore pain, and from his physical, she could tell that his injuries were healing properly. But that didn't mean he wouldn't hurt himself further if he jumped back into a mission this early.

She scratched her eyebrow and swallowed, not sure what to even say. There was no reason to keep him off duty, but she wracked her brain for any excuse. "I said three weeks was the _minimum_."

Ignoring her protest, Naruto turned to Kakashi. "Do you feel comfortable returning to your missions?"

To her disappointment, Kakashi nodded. "I do."

With a hand waved to him, Naruto gave her a proud grin. "There, you see?"

"He's not a physician." She glanced to Kakashi, just a quick, side eye to let him know that he was being rather annoying. Couldn't he see how much she wanted him to stay with her? Being back on missions would mean he would be gone from the village. She wouldn't even be permitted to know where he was going or when he would be back. It was Sasuke all over again and she could feel her anger and frustration at the situation growing.

"You gave him a physical exam last week and noted that he was in top physical condition and that his wounds were nearly healed." She hated that Naruto had gone above her head and consulted the medical records. Not that she really had a say in that. He was the Hokage after all.

Folding her arms over her chest, she cut her eyes to the window and the overcast skies that stretched above the village. She was dangerously close to pouting but couldn't bring herself to really care at the moment. Knowing he would be assigned to a mission that took him away from her was making her feel selfish.

"If I may," Kakashi offered gently, leaning to the edge of his seat to catch her gaze. "I think it would make Haruno-sensei more comfortable releasing me back to my missions if I promised to take care of myself. And to come back to the village in one piece with no more late night interruptions into her life?" The glint in his eyes told her that he was leaving off _unless you want me to interrupt you_ at the end of that sentence.

And while her body was begging _Yes! Please interrupt me_ , what Sakura was mainly focused on was his promises. He had made so many to her already today, but this was the most important one. It was something Sasuke never could do. He never gave her false promises of his return, always warned her that he might not make it back alive. She didn't care if it was a lie. She just wanted to hear it, just once.

The seconds passed and Sakura realized that she and Kakashi were still staring at one another. Anyone with enough sense about this kind of thing would be able to instantly tell that they were involved with one another. Thankfully, Naruto wasn't that kind of person. He clapped his hands together and smiled.

"There, you see?" With a shuffle of papers, the Hokage slid a file across the table and dropped a pen on top of it. "I just need your signature and Kakashi will be returned to his missions."

Sakura snatched the pen and moved to the edge of her seat. The tip of the pen hovered over the page and she glanced back to Kakashi. Naruto or not, she just had to hear it one more time. "You promise?"

"I do."

* * *

AN- This chapter was a bit short, so I apologize. The next chapter will be fun and flirty and full of Kakashi being incredibly hot and dominant. Or that's what I'm planning at least! Thanks for reading and sticking around! So sorry about the lack of updates!


	13. Too Soon

Notes:

I wrote this in three hours. Don't hate me because I did not edit.

* * *

Sakura had left work early after her meeting with Kakashi and Naruto. It was something she rarely ever did. Just knowing she left behind a mound of paperwork was enough to give her anxiety, but it would be there for her tomorrow. Tonight, she had a date and her excitement was too much for her to even try to concentrate on progress notes.

So now she was heading downtown to look for a new dress. The ones in her closet that she had been considering just didn't seem right. He had told her to wear something sexy, after all. She wanted to give him exactly that. And since she had always been a bit of a prude with her fashion sense, Sakura figured now would be the best time to remedy that.

The bell above the clothing store chimed as she stepped through the door and the young clerk behind the counter gave her a friendly smile. "Hello," she greeted. "Need any help today?"

If she was being honest, she would have said yes, she needed all the help she could get. But the thought of having a stranger help her pick out a dress to seduce a man she wasn't in a relationship with made that previous anxiety spike back up inside her. Instead, Sakura smiled and said, "I'm just looking for a new dress."

With a nod, the clerk pointed to the back of the store and Sakura headed off in that direction. There were several racks of different styles of dresses and a few displays hanging on the walls. Almost immediately, one caught her eye and she stared up at it with an arched brow. The garment was a deep, emerald green and velvet. It looked soft to the touch and her head filled with fantasies of Kakashi running his hand over her backside while wearing it.

But the length was too short and the way the dress wrapped at the waist would probably make it much too low cut for her taste. Sexy didn't have to mean revealing. With a final glance to the dress, she turned to a circular rack and searched through the options.

Each time she found a possible candidate, she draped it over her arm and moved on until she had at least four to try on. They were all nice dresses that were sexy in the modest way. Not revealing too much skin but enough to be noticed.

The first one was an ankle length black dress, with a slit up to her thigh. It had long sleeves and a scoop neckline and would have been absolutely, drop dead gorgeous on Ino, but on Sakura, it looked a bit too matronly. The last thing she wanted was to look older.

She pulled it off and hung it back on the hanger before moving onto a second one. She pulled the fabric over her head and could tell this one wasn't going to work before she had even straightened it around her body. Off it went and as she reached for the third, a knock sounded at the fitting room door.

"Just checking if everything's working out for you," came the chipper voice of the sales clerk. Frustration was already starting to bubble inside Sakura, but she forced it back.

"So far, yes. Thank you—"

The door chime sounded from the front of the store and Sakura leaned down to make sure the clerk's feet were moving away from her door. Her cheery greeting sounded further away and with a sigh, Sakura hung the second dress back on the hanger.

As she pulled the third off and slipped her arms into it, the velvet dress popped back into her mind. It wouldn't hurt to try on, even if there was no way she could buy it. She raced through the next two dresses, deciding against them before she had barely even glanced at her reflection. They weren't right and she knew it.

After quickly dressing in her clothes once again, she gathered the four garments and slipped out of the fitting room. She hung the discarded dresses on the rack and turned back to the green dress still hanging on display on the wall. But her eyes were pulled away from the garment and landed on a familiar face. Wide lavender eyes blinked at her and Hinata's face broke out into a grin.

"Sakura! I didn't expect to see you out and about at this time. You're usually at work until five."

Sakura's eyes darted back to the green dress as she forced a smile. "Usually, yes, but I'm taking the afternoon off for a bit of retail therapy."

"That's good." Hinata held up a sweater. "I'm doing a bit of that myself. Having any luck?"

"Somewhat." The four dresses hanging on the rack along with the other unwanted garments said otherwise, but Sakura didn't want to admit that she was being indecisive because none of the dresses were sexy enough. "I'm trying to find a dress to wear to dinner tonight."

Hinata's eyes lit up. "Oh! Is Sasuke back?"

The question felt like a punch in the gut and Sakura had to put a hand to her stomach to make sure she hadn't been. She let out a nervous laugh and turned to face the circular rack of dresses once again, even though she knew none of them would be good enough. There was only one that she was certain would knock Kakashi's socks off.

Glancing back to her friend and then the velvet dress for the fifth time, Sakura ducked her head. "No, he's not. I'm having dinner with a friend." The sound of the hanger sliding over the metal rack was the only sound for a few minutes.

Hinata's silence lifted Sakura's head and she blinked at her friend. Her lips were pressed together tightly, and she was trying hard not to speak, Sakura could tell. Though Hinata made a point not to look her way, she could tell there was something she wasn't saying. It made the punched feeling in her gut magnify.

"It's that guy, from the bar, isn't it?" Her question was whispered, as if the store clerk would be interested at all in their conversation. Then again, if Sakura had to spend all day behind a counter, she'd probably eavesdrop on a conversation or two as well. With a glance back up to the front, she found the girl folding clothes and nodding her head to whatever song was playing through one of her ear buds.

Sakura sighed and abandoned her search for the sexy-yet-modest dress that didn't exist. "Yes, his name is Kakashi. We're just friends."

"You didn't seem like just friends that night. The way he touched you and—"

"That's just the way he is," she defended, not sure why she was even having to do this. On one hand, she wanted to remind her that this was none of her business…but on the other, she completely understood what Hinata was getting at. "He's a lot younger than us and is more open with that kind of thing."

"What if Sasuke came back and saw you with him?"

Sakura cut her eyes away from Hinata and settled on a sales sign above the rack of sweaters she was looking through. "Yeah, well, he isn't coming back."

"What do you mean?" Hinata circled the sweaters and joined Sakura between them and the dresses, a look of concern filling her pale eyes. In her mind, everyone got the perfect romance that they deserved. Everyone was as happy as she and Naruto were and as much as Sakura didn't want to crush that view of hers, she couldn't lie.

"I mean," she started, taking a deep breath. "Sasuke isn't coming back. He wrote to Naruto, saying it might be another year, or even longer until he does. He told Naruto not to tell me. I'm tired of putting my life on hold for someone who can't even say things to my face."

The quiet that fell between them made Sakura's ears ring and she turned to the clothes she had already cycled through twice, needing to fill the silence with _something_. She didn't want to see the look on Hinata's face either, as if her entire foundation of romantic beliefs hinged on whether or not Sasuke and Sakura stayed together.

"I know you're hurt, Sakura, but if you love someone, you wait for them."

She scoffed and turned to Hinata, eyes narrowed in a glare. "And if you love someone, should you make them live alone for years, never writing, never visiting, never even telling them you love them in a letter? It's over, Hinata. I'll always love him, but I'm not wasting anymore time on him. I don't _want_ someone like that. I don't deserve someone like that."

The words grew tighter in her throat and she swallowed the lump that had appeared. She tried not to notice the look of hurt and confusion in Hinata's face, wished she could laugh at how dramatic she was being, but Sakura didn't feel like laughing at the moment. It was bad enough that she still felt guilty for doing something selfish with Kakashi but knowing one of her closest friends thought she was a bad person because of it was too much.

Maybe she was a bad person. Maybe she had listened to Ino too much and Hinata not enough. They could have helped balance her out before this had snowballed into what it was now. Before she had developed feelings for Kakashi.

"You're right," Hinata said quietly, making Sakura whip her head back to face her. "You deserve someone who can make you happy. But, Sasuke doesn't deserve this either."

Sakura watched her hang the sweater she had been clutching back up on the rack, spin on her heel and march to the front door. With a chime of the bell over the door, Hinata was gone and the store clerk had barely managed to stumble through a 'thank you, come again'.

In her hands, the hanger she had been clutching snapped and Sakura looked down to see the plastic and the strap of a dress were broken. Perfect. Now she had to buy it. And though it was pretty, and on sale, it wasn't what she had been wanting for tonight.

Of course, the conversation with Hinata had ruined the excitement she had been feeling anyway. Feeling utterly defeated, Sakura grabbed the dress and broken hanger and made her way to the front of the store. What did Hinata know of the situation anyway? She didn't know about the note Sakura had sent Sasuke, she didn't know about the years of loneliness, and she definitely didn't know about the way Kakashi made her feel. All she knew was that for the past ten years, she had been blinded by the love she and Naruto shared.

Sakura could listen to Hinata and let the guilt eat away at her for the rest of her life, she could listen to Ino and indulge in every little thing she wanted…or she could listen to herself. And all she wanted was to have dinner with the one man who made her feel more in three weeks than she had felt in the past six years.

She spun on her heel and marched back to the wall near the racks of dresses. The velvet dress was waiting for her, with one of the overhead lights shining down on it. Sakura snatched it from the rack, made sure it was the right size, and laid both dresses down on the counter in front of the store clerk.

"Did you find everything you needed?" She asked, giving a wary glance to the snapped hanger and strap of the dress.

Sakura shook the hair from her face and smiled. "I sure did."

.

.

The restaurant they had agreed to meet at was far fancier than Sakura had been expecting. It was a new place, one that she had heard plenty of people praising over the last month or so, but one she had never ventured into by herself. And standing at the front of the dining area, waiting for a fancily dressed man to notice her, Sakura was instantly reminded _why_ she didn't go to places like this.

Everyone inside was coupled up, sitting in the cozy, intimate booths while sipping wine and gazing lovingly at one another. Though she had bought a new dress just for this occasion, she still felt a bit underdressed. She had been expecting something like the arcade or dingy bar. This was…something else.

She tugged the hem of her skirt down her thighs self-consciously and stepped up to where the host stood behind his podium. A book was laid out open in front of him and she couldn't help staring at the pencil thin mustache that lined his upper lip.

"Good evening, madam. Do you have a reservation?"

"Oh, I'm not sure, exactly." Sakura scratched at her eyebrow. "This is my first time here."

He forced a tight-lipped smile and folded his hands over the book of reservations. "Well, I'm afraid that we are reservations only tonight."

"Hatake," a voice said over her right shoulder, instantly melting her insides. "It should be under Kakashi Hatake."

She turned to look up at him and her eyes went wide. His bare face was showing. In public. And damn, did it look good. He was clean shaven and smelled fresh from the shower. His hair was still a mess of spikes on his head, but they did look a bit shorter. Had he gotten a haircut?

All of her thoughts were in a frenzied state and she didn't know what to rest her eyes on. His face was so gorgeous it almost _hurt_ to look at and she let her gaze fall to the clothes he had on. A black, perfectly fitting button up shirt, rolled up to his elbows and showing the length of his forearms, along with a pair of tan pants that Sakura suspected his ass looked amazing in. She stepped back and blinked up the length of his body, drinking in every bit he was willing to give.

The host tapped the reservation book and his smile turned from haughty to helpful in a matter of seconds. He plucked two menus from the podium and stepped out from behind it. "Right this way, sir."

As he turned to lead them into the dining area, Sakura couldn't help the smile that stretched the corner of her lips. "What happened to your mask?" She asked in a whisper.

"They have a strict dress code. Besides," Kakashi chuckled and gave a quick glance around. "No one is even looking at me when you're dressed like that."

Warmth flushed her face as he put a hand to the small of her back and gently pushed her to follow the man leading them to their seats. If he hadn't, Sakura was sure she would have stood there all night, staring at her date. The blush on her cheeks spread through the rest of her body at the thought of Kakashi as her date.

She brushed her hair over her shoulder and leaned toward him. "You told me to wear something nice."

His laugh was close to her ear and it made goosebumps appear on her arms. "I said something _sexy_ , not something that makes me want to bend you over one of these tables."

In that moment, she would have let him do just that.

The maître d' stopped at one of the booths in the back of the dining area, tucked away in a corner with a low hanging light fixture above the table. The seats were red and curved in a half circle, more than likely meant for a party larger than two people. But as Sakura slid into her side, she was thankful for the shape. They were just tall enough to hide them, and her head was instantly filled with all sorts of naughty things they could possibly get away with.

Kakashi met her in the middle and the touch of his hand to her bare knee almost made her moan right in front of the host. He laid the menus down in front of them and gave a quick bow before assuring them that their waiter would be there to take their orders shortly. As soon as he was gone, Kakashi turned to her and lifted a hand to her face, making her eyes meet his.

She barely had time to sigh before he was kissing her. It was nothing like the one they had shared in the elevator earlier that day, but it still curled her toes. His lips were soft as they pressed into hers and the fingers behind her ear curled into the hair she had spent nearly an hour trying to perfect. He pulled away from her with a smile and she almost pulled him back in for more.

"I've been wanting to do that for a few hours," he murmured, tucking a curl behind her ear. Sakura ducked her head, but he quickly lifted it with a finger beneath her chin. She took her bottom lip between her teeth and loved the look in his eyes when he noticed. "I wasn't lying earlier when I said I could kiss you forever."

"I could let you, but I think the other people around us might get a bit uncomfortable." Sakura swallowed, the words she was wanting to say refusing to budge from her throat. Her nervousness was making her voice a bit shaky, but she was dying to ask him. "We could always go back to my house after dinner, if you want."

The corner of his lips lifted into a mischievous smirk that had her clenching her thighs. He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip and watched as her lips parted before his eyes lifted to meet her gaze. "As much as I'm dying to take you up on that offer, you did tell me to be on my best behavior."

"I know what I said," she whispered, hoping he could see the look of mischievousness on her face now. "And I'm telling you now, that I want you to come over."

He blinked and a flash of sadness moved across his stare. It made her lean back in surprise, but before she could ask him what was wrong, the waiter stepped up to the table. He held a notepad and pen out, giving a polite bow in greeting. "Good evening, I will be your waiter tonight. Have we decided on any wine selections?"

Sakura looked to the unopened menus laying on the table and pursed her lips. She had almost forgotten where they were. And though she wanted to know what that look on Kakashi's face had meant, she decided to let it slide for now.

"I'll take a glass," she said, hoping her voice didn't give away how uneasy she was feeling.

"We'll take a bottle. Whatever you recommend."

The waiter gave another bow and as soon as he stepped away from the table, Sakura turned to Kakashi, unable to stop herself from asking. "Do you not want to spend the night with me?"

"Of course, I do." His smile was sadder than she was prepared for and her shoulders fell. "It's all I've been thinking about for weeks, if I'm being honest."

"Then, why—"

"I was assigned a mission today after our meeting." He hung his head with a sigh. "We leave at midnight."

"Oh."

She wanted to tell him it was too soon, that he wasn't ready to return to the field. She wasn't ready for him to leave. But, she had signed his release form only hours before. It was foolish of her to think that it would be a while before he was assigned a mission. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and turned to open her menu, needing something to look at besides his face.

"I was going to tell you. I just didn't want our first date ruined before it had even started."

She could hear the remorse in his voice and knew she had no right to make him feel bad about doing his job. Forcing a smile, hoping it would make her feel better, she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. " _Second_ date," she corrected. "The arcade was our first date."

He tilted his head to the side. "I thought you said that _wasn't_ a date?"

"I know what I said."

Kakashi's eyebrow arched and he leaned closer to her. "You like keeping me on my toes, don't you?"

"I prefer you in other positions." Her own words made her face flush with heat and she ducked her head. He sucked in a breath and his hand found that same spot just above her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"You're being quite the tease tonight, Sakura. Do you enjoy making this hard for me?"

She lifted her gaze to his. "Yes."

It was the truth. Never before had she ever wanted to do the things he made her want to do. It was hard to stop herself when she was around him. From the moment they first met, she had been struggling to be good and proper. Even after sending Sasuke that note and coming to the decision to end their relationship, she had resisted doing exactly what she wanted. She didn't want to resist anymore.

And though his mission would keep him away for a little while, she knew it wouldn't matter. He would come back, the fire she felt for him would still be there, and she had been wanting to do since the first time he spoke to her. She had waited this long…what was a few more days?

The waiter came back to the table to present the bottle of wine he had chosen for them and Sakura had barely heard a word he said. She was too busy staring at the man beside her, too busy letting her head fill with all the delicious things he would do to her.

As soon as they were alone once more, she reached to lay a hand over Kakashi's arm, and he turned to her. His smile was soft, and she wanted to kiss it. Instead, she met his gaze. "When you get back from your mission, no matter what time of day or night, come over."

"I will," he said softly, reaching to stroke the side of her head. She leaned into his touch and let her eyes close, wanting nothing more than to savor the moment. It was absurd how badly she already missed him, even though he was sitting right next to her. His lips brushed against hers, pulling a sigh from her throat. "I promise."

She loved hearing him say those two words.

.

.

"Hinata still hasn't talked to me," Sakura complained into the phone she cradled against her head and shoulder. "Do you think she's still upset?"

On the other end of the call, Ino scoffed. "Don't worry about Hinata. She lives in her own cookie-cutter version of life and she thinks everyone else does as well. You're not doing anything wrong."

Still, she hated the thought of Hinata thinking less of her. It had been three days since they had bumped into each other at the store, three days since her first "official" date with Kakashi, and three days since he had been gone on his mission. She was trying not to think about him so much. It would drive her crazy with worry if she made herself dwell on it.

Over the past few days, she had tried to distract herself with work, bringing it home each night. Of course, that had made her ahead of her own schedule and by the third night, she had nothing else to do. Since leaving the hospital, she had cleaned her refrigerator out, folded laundry, and was no using Ino to distract her with gossip while she painted her toenails.

"I know," she sighed. "I just feel like I hurt her feelings somehow."

"She gets her feelings hurt over everything. Don't. Worry." Ino paused for a moment and Sakura was hoping she wasn't finding an excuse to end the call with her. It was only 10:35 and she was going to need at least another hour of distraction before she could fall asleep. "So, any word from him?"

Sakura frowned and nearly smeared blue paint across her pinky toe. It was awful that she didn't know which _him_ Ino was referring to; Sasuke or Kakashi. She assumed it was the latter and sighed. "No. But he shouldn't be gone for too long. He assured me that it would be less than a week."

Though she had been preparing herself for it to be much longer. She didn't want to get used to being disappointed all over again. Not with him.

"So, can I ask you something?" The sound of Ino's tone instantly made Sakura nervous. She dropped her foot off the bed and capped the polish in her hand.

"Of course. You can ask me anything."

"Are you in love with him?"

Oh, except that. That was something she didn't want to answer and couldn't answer. It was way, way too soon to even ask herself that question. But despite the urge to laugh at her best friend and tell her there was no way, Sakura remained quiet. She stared down at her freshly painted, blue toes and bit her bottom lip.

"Your silence speaks volumes."

"It's too soon," she finally said, deciding that was the best answer to give. It wasn't a yes or no and didn't force her to question how feelings in anyway. "I've known him a month."

"There isn't a time frame, you know?"

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but it's still too soon. I spent years falling for Sasuke—"

"And look how that turned out!" Ino laughed bitterly, making Sakura frown at her reaction. Why were they even having this conversation? It was starting to make her nauseous.

"Exactly. If it took years with Sasuke, why would I even think about something like love after a month with someone else? It's _too soon_."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line and Sakura glanced down at the screen to make sure the call hadn't dropped. Ino let out a small sigh. "It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself that it's too soon when you know that it's not really."

"Ino," she said through clenched teeth, "I'm not in love with Kakashi. What we have is strictly physical."

"Oh, is that why you've waited this long to sleep with him? I'm not buying it, Sakura. And from your tone, I can tell you're not buying it either."

"Why are we even—"

Her words were cut off by a sharp knock at the front door. In a flash, she was on her feet, not caring that her toenails were still a bit sticky. Her breath was frozen inside her lungs, and her pulse raced. It had only been three days. He was back so soon?

The relief she felt sweeping through her did little to back up her previous speech to Ino. She swapped the phone into her left hand and threw open her bedroom door. "I've got to go. He's back."

"You are _so_ in love with—"

Sakura ended the call before she had heard the end of the sentence, but she knew who Ino had been referring to. And maybe she was in love with him. It was no one's business but hers and Kakashi's. That would have to be a thought for another time.

She didn't want to think about Hinata, or Ino anymore. All she wanted was to throw open the door and see his face, feel his hands reach for her and the kiss of his mouth. By the time she reached the front door, she was breathless, and her fingers shook as she twisted the dead bolt.

"You're back," she breathed, throwing the door open. The smile on her face instantly vanished and her jaw fell open as the cloaked figure turned to face her with a stoic expression. "Sasuke?"

* * *

 **Notes:** Okay, now you can hate me :D I know this chapter was short, but it was juicy enough without much more happening. Sakura is so in denial about how she feels it's ridiculous! I'm excited for the upcoming drama and I hope you are as well!


	14. Confessions

AN- prepare for some good, ole fashioned angst this chapter.

* * *

It was late, but she didn't know the exact time. Far too late for her to be awake and sitting on the edge of the bathtub, having a mild panic attack behind the closed door. But she couldn't risk Sasuke waking up to her hyperventilating and in tears. He wouldn't understand and her lack of an explanation would only upset him.

Because there was no way in hell she could tell him why she was panicking.

She could barely even admit it to herself. It was ridiculous and the complete opposite of what she _should_ be freaking out about. But all Sakura could think about was Kakashi coming back from his mission, knocking on her door, and finding Sasuke in her home. She was terrified of hurting him, terrified that he would take one look at the guilt on her face and walk out of her life forever.

Sakura dropped her head into her shaking fingers and pushed them through her hair, keeping her groans low enough to not wake Sasuke sleeping in her bed down the hall. She slid off the edge of the tub and sat on the fluffy white rug on the floor. The fibers sank between her toes and she leaned forward to rest her forehead on her knees.

Why now?

Why did he have to come back _now_?

He had said a year in his last letter!

Frustratingly, he hadn't given her much of an explanation either. He had only apologized for being gone and kissed her. And that kiss had turned into touching and eventually, they made their way to her bed and Sakura got the one thing she had been wanting from the moment he left last year. Except…it was all wrong now.

Every time she had closed her eyes, she saw Kakashi's face and every kiss across her neck and breasts, she expected to look down and see that cheeky smirk she had grown to love. It had made her nearly sob in the middle of sex and she was thankful that Sasuke took her sounds as pleasure and not frustration and misery.

And she felt so guilty for all the wrong reasons. She should be thrilled Sasuke is back, if not to continue their relationship then at the very least to talk about it. But she didn't talk to him at all. She slept with him instead because it was easier than to fess up and face all of the problems they had. She didn't know if he even received her message or not.

If he didn't, why was he here?

And if the message was why he was back so soon, did he think having sex with her would fix everything? Sakura sighed and sat up, blinking into the light above the vanity. For the past hour that she had been sitting on the floor of her bathroom, she had been avoiding the one thing she was now sure of. And the one thing that added so much more to this situation.

She wasn't in love with Sasuke anymore.

She was in love with Kakashi…and she may have ruined her chances with him forever.

.

.

Just as she suspected, the next day at work was a living nightmare. From the moment she walked into the doors of the hospital, she had been running back and forth from floor to floor. A breech birth on the second floor, kunai to the face in the emergency department, and a summons to meet with the Hokage by lunch. It was too much for her to deal with on only a few hours of sleep.

And she suspected the meeting with Naruto would include the one person she had been hoping to avoid. Thankfully, she had managed to sneak out of the house bright and early that morning, before Sasuke was fully awake. He had sleepily told her goodbye and kissed her cheek, but all Sakura could think was _please, get out of my bed and out of my house_.

Which made her feel like complete shit. Not like she didn't already feel like that with little to no sleep.

She shed her lab coat, now sprinkled with drops of blood from the kunai wound and tossed it into the laundry cart. Though she knew Naruto would send another low level shinobi to summon her again soon, she needed a minute to collect her thoughts. She put her hands down on the edge of the cart and ducked her head, closing her eyes.

She wanted to call Ino, to confess her feelings about Kakashi and ask her what the hell she was supposed to do now. Would she even have the answer? Sure, Ino would tell her to follow her heart and do what makes her happy, but how could she be happy when either way, someone was going to have their heart broken?

Oh, she had been so stupid to let things go this far with Kakashi. She should have known he would bring her nothing but heartache the day he had walked her to the theater. And she had known it then. But true to typical Sakura fashion, she had ignored the warnings from her sensible side and followed her body's wants.

But it was more than her body now. It was her heart telling her to be with him and gods, she wanted to follow it.

Sakura sighed and stood up straight, brushing the hair from her face and smoothing the wrinkles from her top. There was no way she could avoid this meeting all day. Naruto would hunt her down himself if she tried to lock herself in her office and with the kind of day she had so far, that just wasn't going to be possible.

She made her way out of the housekeeping area and shut the door quietly behind her. Her eyes stayed on the tile floor beneath her and by the time she made it to her office, she hadn't noticed the two figures standing at her door.

"There she is!" A cheerful voice called, making her snap her head up in surprise. Naruto beamed happily to her and beside him, Sasuke had a faint trace of a smile on his lips. Seeing him there, so close to her and so… _there_ , made her stomach clench tight with anxiety. "C'mon, we're going to have lunch together like old times!"

"Uh…" It was all her brain could think to say at that moment. Her eyes darted from Sasuke to Naruto, to the door of her office. "I-I have work to do."

"So do I. But nothing is more important than having Team Seven back together." Naruto reached out and draped his good arm over Sasuke's shoulder and barely noticed when he stepped away, making it fall back to his side. With a nod toward the doors at the end of the hallway, he turned. "C'mon, let's go."

Sakura glanced toward the man still facing her and wondered if he could tell how pale she was. Could she blame it on the lack of sleep? He had kept her up to almost eleven the night before…Sasuke started to turn away but hesitated, making her freeze in place.

His eyes met hers and narrowed only slightly before sweeping across her face. He turned away to follow Naruto and Sakura let out a slow, trembling breath. There was no doubt about it in her mind.

He knew something was wrong and she figured she had until the end of her day before he would bring it up. She was going to have to admit everything to him and tell him the truth. For now, though, she was going to have to sit through an awkward lunch with a suspicious Sasuke and oblivious Naruto. Just like old times.

Ichiraku was packed for lunchtime but Teuchi always had seats at the counter reserved for Naruto and guests. He greeted them happily and Sakura slid into an empty stool. The muscles along her back tensed as Sasuke did the same beside her, his hand coming to rest at the small of her back. If he noticed how stiff she was, he didn't mention it.

Naruto landed on the stool on the other side of her and she tried to hold in her sigh. Being caught in the middle of them wasn't ideal. It made it hard for her to make up an excuse to leave quickly. This way, they could both try to keep her from leaving, though she wasn't sure Sasuke would.

He was understanding when she needed her space, though that had been a rare occasion in the past. And by rare, she meant it hadn't happened since before they made their relationship official. Of course, why would she need her space from him when he was gone ten months out of the year?

At her left, Naruto nudged her in the ribs, and she jumped with a quick shriek. She blinked up at Teuchi who was staring at her with wide eyes, his notepad and pen ready to take her order. _Oh yeah…food…_ Clearing her throat, she glanced to the board hanging to the right of the counter and read the special of the day.

"I'll just take the Tsukemen."

"Pork broth or vegetarian?"

"Surprise me."

She wasn't going to eat much of it anyway. Her appetite was completely out the window and she hoped she could take as few bites as possible to convince them she was okay. Once Teuchi finished their orders and stepped away to prepare them, Naruto leaned forward with a grin.

Any other time, she would ignore it, but there was something in his eyes, a glint that he only had when he was truly happy and moved by something. It made her instantly nervous and she forced a weak smile.

"What?" She asked him.

"Nothing. I'm just glad to have us back together again." Oh, if only he knew how badly Sakura was wanting to get away. Before she could respond, Naruto cleared his throat and looked down at his hands fidgeting with the napkin in front of him. "Actually, I did want to tell you both something. And I'm glad Sasuke is here to hear it in person."

He took a deep breath and sat up straight, the corners of his lips lifting in a smile that touched his eye and Sakura could see a tear welling up. She was almost nervous to ask. "What is it?"

"Hinata's pregnant."

She felt the air leave her lungs and her hands gripped the counter to keep her from toppling off the stool. Pregnant? They were only in their thirties! They weren't ready for babies yet! Oh god, was she supposed to be ready to have a baby? Sakura risked a glance to Sasuke and nearly choked on air to find him staring at her.

Thankfully, he spoke up so she could have a moment to recover. "Congratulations."

"H-how far along is she?"

Naruto reached up to wipe the teardrop from the corner of his eye and sniffed. "We only found out last week."

Sakura's stomach clenched and she put a hand to her belly. No wonder Hinata had been so emotional when she had bumped into her a few days ago. If she had known she was pregnant, she would have never upset her as she had. Yet another thing to add to the list of things to feel miserable about.

"I'm happy for you," she managed to finally say. Her tone made her wince, but she couldn't muster anything happier at the moment. Lucky for her, Naruto was oblivious, and he took a deep breath and grinned at her.

The lunch was a quiet one. Well, for her part it was. The two men on either side of her kept the small talk going as she occupied her mouth with her food. She ate more than she had planned, filling any awkward silence with mouthfuls of noodles. It worked for the most part but eventually, the bowl had to end, and she stared down it as Naruto finished his own meal.

He patted his satisfied belly and stretched his arms over his head. "Ichiraku for lunch is delicious but I always want to take a nap afterward!"

"Well, lucky you're Hokage and can take a nap anytime you want," Sakura mumbled, reaching for the cash in her pocket. A hand touched her thigh and she froze. She stared down at Sasuke's hand, unable to even breathe. It felt wrong and inappropriate but what was she supposed to do? Slap it away? Forcing a small smile, she pushed the money back into her pocket and nodded to him.

He stood from the stool and paid for their meals and Sakura took the moment his attention was occupied elsewhere to step away and take a breath. A couple came in through the door and the bell chiming above them made Sakura look up. The two were snuggled close and blushing, obviously in the beginning stages of their relationship and she thought back to the date she had with Kakashi last week.

Had they looked the same as they were led to their quiet, dimly lit booth in the back of the restaurant? She knew the answer to that. She was always flushed and doe-eyed around him and as she thought to the way he had whispered so many delicious and dirty things in her ear the last night she had seen him. Even now, with the added tension of Sasuke being back in the village, she couldn't help the way her body reacted to just the memory of Kakashi.

She took her bottom lip between her teeth and felt bad for hoping his mission would keep him away for the next week or so. Just until Sasuke left again. Until after she could officially end things with him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Naruto stepping up to her with a soft smile. "Hinata wants us all to have dinner together tonight. I know it's short notice, but do you two have plans?"

She opened her mouth to tell him, yes, they definitely had plans to have a long talk about their future—or lack thereof—but no words could form. There wasn't a single coherent excuse in her brain to give to him. As she stammered, Sasuke moved behind her and let out a small sigh, barely noticeable but it echoed in her ears.

"We'd love to."

What was happening?

Why, after months, and months, and _years_ , was he finally being the boyfriend she had needed him to be? Was this some sort of punishment for taking this as far as she had with Kakashi? And though she still felt it was too little too late, she couldn't do a damn thing about it! Her body was refusing to do anything productive like step in and tell him that they couldn't make it to dinner.

She just stood there, staring between the two of them like she was brain dead. Even as Naruto told her goodbye and Sasuke led her out the doors and into the afternoon sunshine, she couldn't say a thing. She was on autopilot and if she wanted to fix things, she had to snap out of it soon!

"Are you alright?"

Sakura blinked up at Sasuke's face and searched the one eye not obscured by his hair. He could see right through all of her bullshit, knew she was hiding something and even still, she couldn't bring herself to do what she needed to do. A lump pressed hard against the back of her throat and she ducked her head, trying to buy her enough time to swallow it down.

"Yeah," she croaked. "It's just been a bad day at work. I should probably get back before the entire building burns down without me."

He didn't appreciate her humor and stared at her as impassive as ever. He reached up and brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear and she had to bite her tongue to keep from flinching away from him.

"I'll see you tonight," he said quietly, searching her eyes for a few seconds more before turning away from her. She was so used to him walking away that it didn't bother her anymore. Despite telling him she had to return to work, Sakura stayed where she was and watched him leave, letting all of the anger and frustration and loneliness he had forced upon her in the last year build-up.

Now that the initial shock of seeing him again was starting to wear off, she had to do what she needed to do. It was time to tell Sasuke goodbye. She just wished they wouldn't have to sit through an awkward dinner beforehand.

* * *

Kakashi landed without a sound on the roof of the Hokage Tower. He stood to his full height and looked out at the village through the eyes of his mask. Somewhere out there, quite possibly at the hospital, was the one person he hadn't been able to stop thinking about for the past four days. Wondering what she had been doing with herself, what she would say when she saw him again, Kakashi felt the corner of his lips lift in a small smile.

With a soft step on the roof tiles, his teammate landed at his side and he turned toward the wide window behind him. The glass panes caught the evening sun and with a quick glance inside to see if the Hokage was free, Kakashi slipped inside soundlessly.

Naruto kept his head bent over the paperwork he was currently scribbling through, but he was instantly aware of their presence. He signed his name to the bottom of one of the pages and looked up at the two of them. The chair hinges creaked as he sat back and rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"Status report?"

"The target was eliminated," Itachi spoke first, stepping closer to the Hokage's desk. "We ran into some resistance near the border of Kusagakure. A group of local bandits."

The Hokage's eyebrow lifted and Kakashi stepped forward. "They were taken care of, but a few were in the Bingo Book." He reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out the book. The pages with the now deceased bandit's faces were opened and Naruto leaned forward to assess the entries.

"Both wanted for rape and murder," he said quietly to himself. "Good job. I'll send the information to the villages and you two can report your injuries to the hospital if need be."

His eyes met Kakashi's through the mask and though he hadn't received so much as a scratch, the hospital was the first place he was going to visit anyway. With a quick nod, Kakashi turned on his heel and moved toward the door. The Hokage's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Sasuke's back in the village," he said softly, his words meant for Itachi but they made all of the air freeze in Kakashi's lungs. He couldn't help turning back around to face them, struggling to control the emotion in his eyes. "He'll be at Sakura's house if you'd like to see him."

Kakashi's jaw clenched and he turned back to the door, wrenching it open harder than he had meant to. In the shadows of the hallway beyond the Hokage's office, he pulled his mask off and unbuckled the straps of his vest. His heart was pounding harder than it had the four days he had been gone and a strange feeling of nausea and fear found its way into his stomach.

Thoughts raced through his mind too quickly for him to focus on one in particular and as he hurried into the barracks to change his clothes, he could only be sure of one thing; he had to see Sakura as soon as he could. He shoved his vest and mask into the locker space in the Anbu barracks, fingers both numb and trembling as he did so.

He didn't want to think about them together, but it was all he could see in his mind. It made him sick and angry and he had to get out of here before anyone stopped to question him. He rushed out of the barracks before Itachi had even made it down from the Hokage's office and though he dragged in deep, lungful's of air, it did little to help him.

It was nearing five o'clock and he knew Sakura's shift would be ending soon if she was even still there. He ran a hand through his tangled hair as he rushed through the streets, around a group of medics standing outside the hospital and Kakashi burst through the front doors barely two minutes after leaving the barracks. The receptionist behind the enormous, circular desk blinked up at him in surprise. Her magazine hit the floor as she jumped to her feet to greet him.

The words were barely out of her mouth by the time he passed by her. He passed a few closed office doors and once Sakura's came into view at the end of the hallway, he breathed a sigh of relief to see it cracked open and the light on. There was a voice speaking inside and he stopped just beside the doorframe with a sigh.

Again, he ran a hand through his hair and let his head fall back against the cool wall behind him. He glanced to his left, toward her door, and listened to the conversation.

"…shouldn't be too difficult. My only concern would be the waiting list for the procedure. We have several people who have been here for weeks already." The sound of Sakura's voice, even speaking about things he had no idea about, was enough to comfort him out of his momentary panic. The fear of missing her, of not talking to her about this whole thing faded and left him with nothing but the numbness.

How long had Sasuke been back in the village? Just today, or more? He didn't want to think about them together but in the ten minutes it had been alive in his mind, the mental image of Sasuke and Sakura together was a plague. It hurt to think about, made him sick to his stomach.

And he knew why it hurt so bad.

The thought of losing her to him was more than he could take. He didn't know how it had happened, but it was too late to stop the way he felt about her now. Maybe he was being stupid and reckless falling for her so fast. What was he supposed to do? From the first moment he saw her and spoke to her, she had been on his mind almost nonstop.

All he could think about the four days he was gone was how much he missed just being near her. The second day away, he was sure that if she had been with him, all he would have wanted to do was just hold her. And knowing that while he was gone, it might have been Sasuke holding her and talking to her and being near her made his throat feel tight and his fists clenched at his side.

From inside her office, the conversation was coming to a close and Kakashi stood up straighter. He was only just now aware that he was wearing nothing but a tank top, his mask, and the pants of his Anbu uniform. His hair was a mess and he knew he probably smelled of sweat, but he didn't have a minute to spare to shower.

The door swung open and a woman stepped out, older than Sakura but still pretty with dark hair and kind eyes. She spotted Kakashi with a look of surprise before turning back to Sakura. "You have a visitor," she told her.

"Oh, well, I have a few minutes. Send them in."

Kakashi didn't wait for the woman to relay the message. He slipped into the office and shut the door behind him, his was breath ragged and stomach clenched tight. She looked as pretty as she always did with her pink hair pulled up at the back of her head and a nice outfit beneath her lab coat. She took one look at him and leaped to her feet with a gasp that, on any other circumstance, would have driven him crazy.

"Kakashi," she whispered, circling the desk in two quick steps. Her heels made her a bit taller, but he still towered over her. "You're back."

Her hands reached for the front of his tank top and he let her pull him against her, though the millions of questions still jumbled in his mind begged for answers. He would get them soon. For now, he just wanted to kiss her, and he pulled his mask down with one quick tug.

Their lips met in the middle and his fingers tangled through her hair, pulling strands from her ponytail until the band fell away. She kissed him with a desperation that matched the taste of his own and answered at least a few of those questions burning in his head. He could tell she had missed him just as much as he missed her.

Kakashi pushed her back until her legs hit her desk, sliding it a few inches back along the carpet. A pencil cup tipped over and spilled its contents, but they ignored it. Sakura slid back on the desk and brought him closer with her fingers still clenched around the fabric of his shirt. She reached up to his face and ran the tips of her fingernails over the stubble along his jaw, sending shivers down his spine.

When she pulled away from his lips, her breath was fast and warm, and he inhaled it into deep his lungs. Her eyes were shut tight and he could tell from the look on her face that she was struggling with her emotions. She ducked her head and he pulled her into his arms, letting her rest her head on his chest.

"I have to tell you something," she whispered, making him squeeze his own eyes shut. He didn't want to hear her say the words that he already knew, but he couldn't speak even if he wanted to. "Sasuke came back…last night."

"I know."

She pulled away and looked up at him. "You do?"

He could only nod and his hands fell away from her arms. He rubbed his eyes and stepped away from her, not even sure how he could ask the questions he needed the answers for. Just thinking them made him want to throw up.

"Does he still think you're together?"

Sakura ducked her head and looked down at her fingers in her lap. "I'm not even sure. We haven't had time to talk about it." She let out a heavy sigh. "I got cornered into dinner with Naruto and Hinata tonight. They want it to be some double date thing and I couldn't say no. But, afterward, I'm going to sit Sasuke down and talk to him."

Kakashi nodded.

"What are you going to tell him?" This was one of the questions that he was afraid to hear the answer to. After all the time they had spent together, he knew there was still a part of her that was clinging to the hope that Sasuke would be different in the future.

Sakura shrugged and looked up, her eyes meeting his as she sighed. "I'm going to tell him the truth. That I've been lonely over the last year and when I thought he wasn't coming back, I fell for someone else."

He dragged in a deep breath that shuddered in his chest and he looked away from her, not wanting to look her in the eye when he asked his next question. He wanted to be happy to hear her say she fell for him. It's all he had been wanting to hear for the past few weeks. But he couldn't let himself be happy until he knew…

"Did you sleep with him?"

From the corner of his eye, he could see her jaw fall open in surprise and she quickly clamped it shut before ducking her head again. The silence was enough of an answer and he clenched his jaw tight, waiting for her to speak.

"That's not exactly any of your business, Kakashi."

He cut his eyes back to her. "How would you feel if I had slept with someone else while on my mission?" When she didn't answer him, he continued. "Would you think it's any of _your_ business if I was fucking some random person while you were at home, thinking about me and missing me?"

"Sasuke isn't a random person—"

Kakashi rolled his eyes and paced the length of her office in front of her. "He may as well be a random person. You've only seen him, what, five times in the last four years?"

"Why are you being like this? I made my situation very clear with you from the beginning."

He stopped in front of her and shook his head, feeling that panic and fear starting to weave their cold fingers back through his chest. It blocked any rational part of his mind and he couldn't stop the words before they left his mouth.

"That was before I fell in love with you, Sakura. Back then, I wouldn't have even cared but for the past four days, all I could think about was you and all I wanted to do was just be close to you again and now…" he trailed off, shaking his head. Her eyes were wide and full of so many different emotions it made his throat tighten around his words. With a shrug, he pushed a hand through his hair. "When you figure out what you want, let me know."

"Kakashi—"

He turned, not because he didn't care about what she had to say, but because he knew if he stayed, he wouldn't be able to control his words. It was best to just leave now and hope she chose him. By the time he reached her office door, he could hear her heels on the floor, hurrying after him. At the door, she hesitated and Kakashi dragged in a deep breath.

A part of him wanted her to follow him, to chase him down and tell him exactly what he wanted to hear. But if she couldn't tell him that she chose him, he wanted to get as far away from the hospital as possible. He pushed through the front doors, ignoring the cheery voice of the receptionist telling him to have a good day and didn't stop until he was back on the familiar street where his apartment sat.

Kakashi looked up at the building. It was exactly how he had left it four days ago and he almost didn't want to go inside. It would remind him too much of the day he had left, the day he realized he was in love with the one woman in all of Konoha who he could never have.

* * *

AN- Oh, Kakashi, you're such a drama queen. We ALL know I could never write a story where Sakura chooses Sasuke over you! And to prove that point, the next chapter will be rated E...for everyone who loves smut. :D


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